


The Asset goes to the Bahamas

by Introvertatheart



Series: The Asset's New Life [43]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Brief Mention of Vomit, Cruise Ships, Drama, M/M, Meltdown, Mischief, Seizures, Steve Rogers needs a break, Tantrum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:47:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24600289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Introvertatheart/pseuds/Introvertatheart
Summary: It is finally time for the cruise and mostly everyone is excited. As much as they try to keep things drama free, they can't always be without issues.But they try, they really do.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Laura Barton, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: The Asset's New Life [43]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1343575
Comments: 6
Kudos: 49





	1. Sunday/Embark day

**Author's Note:**

> These are long chapters. Plus I haven't been on a cruise in a while so if some of the terminology is wrong, correct me. But if you haven't been on a cruise. Imagine the boat as a miniature Carnival Cruise boat. I looked at yachts but they don't fit for what I'm looking for.

Steve seriously couldn't be anymore stressed than he is right now. He didn't really sleep Saturday night and all that did was reso8nate to Bucky causing him to be restless at night. Early morning, more specifically 3:39 in the morning, Steve was up washing last minute dishes while Bucky was in his sensory room to least get a little sleep.

" _Captain Rogers, Ms. Romanoff is asking for permission onto the floor_." Asked Jarvis in a hushed tone.

"Okay." The elevator opened. Natasha was in civilian clothes for once and carrying a bookbag. When she saw Steve obsessively cleaning, she chuckled. "Don't laugh at me."

"I'm laughing because you're stress cleaning. You always do that when an event like this happens."

"I'm that stressed?" Asked Steve drying a plate a little too intensely. Nat came to him and took the plate from him before he broke it.

"Yes, you are. So just slow down for a second. Do you have everything packed for everyone?"

"Yes, no, I don't know."

"Okay, let's start with the easy one then move on to the complicated one. Where is Harley's stuff?"

"In the black bag." Nat went to bag and looked through it. 

"Okay, there's four gallon bags and she eats to 2 cups of food in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. So for seven days, I would say bag another. Her toys and treats are in here, where's her bed?"

"In the dryer."

"Alright, Harley is good. Now for you, do you have your essentials? Tooth brush, toothpaste, deodorant, that type of stuff?"

"Yeah in the suitcase."

"I'm assuming this striped one is yours and the one with the star is the baby's?" Steve nodded. "Great. How many pairs of day clothes do you have?"

"Um, seven and seven night clothes."

"Okay, let's back up. In here you have two long sleeve shirts and two hoodies. Why?"

"It might get cold."

"Steve, we're going to the Bahamas. In the summer, it's going to be pretty warm. So bring one long sleeve and one hoodie incase it rains. But Tony said it looks clear so far. You have enough shorts, surprisingly. Night clothes, I would just bring two. You don't seem like the type of person to change pajamas every night." She was right, he wasn't. Steve unpacked two of the pajamas and tossed them aside. "Do you have any summer footwear?"

"No." 

"We'll buy you some when we get on the island. You can wear these converse on board. And do you have any sleep footwear?"

"I have a pair that Tony gave me for my birthday."

"Get them. You'll need them." Steve got up and got the Captain America slippers he never wanted to see again. Nat stuffed them in the suitcase then closed it. "Alright, you're done. Now for the baby. Let's start with the more important stuff. Where is his medication?"

"In the inner pouch. There's plenty for the week."

"Excellent. His sensory toys and his stuffed animals, there's a lot in here. What does he love the most?" 

"Sensory toys: Rubik's cube, chewy, that vibrating toy he likes to put on his head and the clay is becoming a favorite too. Stuffed animals: Lamby, Star, Fin and Snow are all accounted for." Nat looked at Lamby then realized it had a little ribbon tied it's neck that had Bucky's name but Steve's phone number. All of the animals did.

"Why?"

"In case someone got lost. I'm hoping Bucky will have enough sense to not throw anyone overboard."

"He loves them too much, he won't. Now for essentials. You have his tooth brush and toothpaste, his deodorant, his brush, his soap and his bath toys. Okay, that's good. Now for blankets?"

"I'm bringing his regular one and the weighted."

"Excellent. I think you did okay on clothes, I was going to tell you to pack extra for him."

"I know, he'll probably throw up."

"I'm going to assume Bucky doesn't have sleep footwear?"

"I don't think he'll wear them. Most of those are his onesies anyway."

"Okay and he's good on diapers and you both have swim trunks, right?" Steve nodded. "Sippy cups are in here too. You're good. See, no need to overdo anything."

"You're forgetting I've never been on a cruise before."

"No, you're panicking. You did this exact thing when Bucky was going to school. You're just worried. You will be fine, Harley will be fine and Bucky will be fine." Steve felt a little better now that he got a second opinion. Then he wondered.

"Why are you up so early and how did you know to come up here?"

"I slept most of the day away yesterday, so I was up around 2. Then I asked Jarvis to tell me when you were up and if you started stressing."

"Oh, alright." Then they heard the door open. Bucky and Harley came from the sensory room, he spotted Nat and laid down next to her.

"You ready for the trip?" Asked Nat scratching his head.

"Go?"

"On a boat to somewhere fun."

"Fun. Go with?"

"Of course. Everyone is going." Bucky smiled and gripped the end of her hair. "Bucky, gentle." She said. Bucky released his grip then lightly fidget it. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"No sleepy."

"Did he sleep at all?" Asked Nat.

"Yeah for like five hours. Then I started to become nervous and moving around, then he woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep, so I told him to go sit in the sensory room." Said Steve. Nat smiled at him then looked at the clock. Just a little past four.

"We got another three hours, Tony wants us to be at the dock a little before nine. So why don't you and the baby take a nap?" Asked Nat.

"Once he's up, he's up for good. And he won't let me sleep."

"Okay, you can sleep in here and we'll be in the sensory room."

"Nat-"

"Steve, you'll need every ounce of energy once we get on the boat to deal with him, so rest." Steve thought for a second but before he could refuse, Nat was already standing up with Bucky and they were walking to the sensory room. Steve sighed and laid on the couch, Harley stared at him for a second then laid down on her day bed. Eventually, he fell into an uneasy slumber.

When Steve woke up, he could feel someone was staring at him. He turned his head to see baby blue eyes staring back at him. Something he should be used to, but would never get used to. Whenever Bucky woke up first, he stared at Steve until he woke up.

"Up?" Bucky tilted his head.

"Yeah, I'm up. Where's mommy?" Asked Steve sitting up.

"Warming milk." Nat said from the kitchen. "We also have to be downstairs in ten minutes."

"Oh." Steve's first instinct was too panic, then he remembered everything was packed and ready to go. He started to relax a little then remembered Harley's bed was sitting in dryer. He got up and her bed from the dryer. 

"Alright, everything is packed. I double checked everything. We're good, let's go."

"Wait, has he been changed?"

"Yep." Nat grabbed her bag. She helped Bucky put on his travel bag and made him carry his suitcase. Steve got his suitcase and Harley's bed, he was about to step into the elevator when he thought about something.

"Steve?"

"The plants?"

"Happy will be here. We'll tell Jarvis to tell Happy to water your special plants, let's go." Said Nat. Steve was about step into the elevator again then remembered. "Steve, seriously?"

"This one is serious." Steve came back with Bucky's harness. Nat patted his back and they went down. They got to basement, Tony, Pepper, Bruce, Sam and Rumlow were waiting by a van.

"Look who decided to join." Said Tony. Steve ignored him then a thought ran by him.

"Do you think I should bring his car seat?"

"Steve, we'll be in the van for less than an hour. He'll be okay." Said Nat.

"Alright, everyone in." Said Tony.

"Where's everyone else?" Asked Steve.

"Clint and his crew are going to meet us there. Thor and Loki will make an grand entrance there." Said Tony getting in the front passenger seat. Steve sighed and sat Bucky in the front row. Harley sat on his left and Steve sat on his right. Steve could already tell something was confusing Bucky. He didn't have his usual racing harness seatbelt and everyone was in the van. What was going on?

"Go?" Bucky asked.

"Just a little road trip, then we'll be on the boat." As everyone settled in, Happy got in the driver's seat and looked at Bucky. Bucky noticed him then growled.

"Stop." Said Steve.

"Nice to meet you too."

"He's like that with strangers."

"I get it. Off we go." They left the tower. It wasn't going to be a long drive to the port, but it felt like it was taking longer than what they anticipated. Especially with Stark in the front seat naming out all the fun things to do on the boat and at the Bahamas. Bucky's anxiety was already causing problems. It started with rocking and arm biting, Steve found his tablet and had him watch a movie until he could calm down.

Once they arrived to the port, the others already unloaded their stuff from the van and were on their way to the boat. Steve was trying to get to the boat. Bucky was scared, which was expected. But Bucky would stop and freeze every so often when they got close. After an extra ten minutes, they reached the ramp to get on the boat. There was a problem. While it was stable and connected to the dock. Every time the boat swayed, it moved and Bucky wasn't a fan of unstable surfaces.

"Bucky, it's okay. Just focus on me." Said Steve. When Bucky stepped foot on the boat ramp, he immediately pulled against Steve's hand to get back on stable land. "You're okay." Bucky shook his head. Steve would have carried him on the boat but Bucky had to do this himself. Then he had an idea.

"Okay, I'll step on with you. One step at a time." Steve stepped off the boat ramp then stood by Bucky. "Okay, left foot first." Steve lifted his left foot, Bucky stared at him then raised his right. That made Steve remember Bucky didn't really know his right from his left yet. "Then we'll step on." Steve stepped a foot on, Bucky hesitated then stepped on then he got both feet on and walked until they got on the boat. "See, that wasn't so bad. I'm proud of you." It probably was in Bucky's mind. Everything was changing so fast. They explored the top deck for a while. There was water slides, golf area and a go cart area. There was a beautiful view and it would get better when they left. They walked downstairs until Bucky smelled food. They went in the dining area, there was so much food. There was like everything from everywhere. Bucky's focus was on the sweets. Cakes, ice cream, candy and a weird jiggly thing. This was Bucky's heaven. 

"Daddy, please? Please?" Begged Bucky pointing to the cake.

"Oh, no. You haven't had breakfast. So you are going to have yogurt, blueberries and eggs." Steve ordered food while Bucky was still focusing on the cake. Nobody else was around expect a few people wearing funny hats, he looked down at Harley who tilted her head. It wouldn't hurt to have a piece. He took a few pieces of M&M's from the jar.

"Bucky?" Asked Steve from behind him. "Do you want a time out?" Bucky shook his head. Steve sighed and they went in the elevator. Once they got to their floor and found their room, Steve was amazed at the size of the room. It was probably just a tad smaller than their bedroom back in the tower, but that was fine. The bathroom was on their left and the closet was on the right. Then there was the balcony. Sliding doors opened to a wooden patio that was closed off by a thick glass. They had a beautiful view of the ocean, Steve would probably be spending most of his time out here when Bucky was asleep. Also the sliding door had a double lock, there was no way Bucky could get out. He hoped. But he noticed glassware on the desk and in the cabinets. Might have to call someone to come get those.

"Alright, pal. You eat your breakfast while I unpack. Then we'll nap." Said Steve. He set the plate down on the table. Bucky sat down then started eating. 

"I suppose you'll want your breakfast too, Harley?" Harley whined. Steve smiled and fix her a cup of food. While they ate, Steve unpacked their clothes and read the map of the boat. Exits weren't far and they had life jackets, even though they all could swim.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Done. Play?" Bucky asked.

"How about a nap?" Bucky shook his head, even Steve could see he wasn't showing an ounce of being tired. "Okay, we can go explore a little more. I'm sure we'll be leaving soon." Bucky got up and held Steve's hand as they went out. They went to the top deck, Bucky tensed up a little. Open space always made him nervous. From what Nat told him, open spaces made an assassin very uncomfortable. That was understandable, even Steve was a little uncomfortable right now. They stood next to the rails for a while.

"Hey Cap and Buckster." Said Sam.

"Hey man." Greeted Steve. Bucky didn't wave or say hi.

"I thought he be napping by now."

"I did too, but he's not tired. He might end up crashing tonight."

"To any parent, that sounds like best thing ever. How's he adjusting?"

"Not good, but not bad. He had trouble getting on, so I'm expecting his sensory issues to start acting up when we start moving."

"Meltdowns?"

"I'm not prepared for that yet."

"Can't really avoid them, if he's overwhelmed he has to lash out."

"Yeah. This is pretty overwhelming already."

"Has Steve Rogers never been on a cruise?"

"Steve Rogers has been busy. And Bucky Barnes needs to keep all hands and feet on the boat." Said Steve scooting Bucky back a little. He managed to get his hands through the rails and he was experimenting to get his feet through. "Don't do that again."

"Typical toddler behavior. So we'll be on sea for today and tomorrow. Then we'll be in the Bahamas for another three days then on sea for a day then Saturday we'll be home. Think you can handle not being Captain America for the week?"

"Not being Captain America is fine, I still got a job to do." Said Steve, looking down at Bucky.

"Yeah. Can't give that up even if you wanted to."

"I don't mind. I just know how much my Bucky would have loved this. Cruises were so expensive back then. Then we learned about the Titanic that happened in 1912, our parents wouldn't let us think about cruises again."

"Dang. Probably was a scary time then."

"It was and growing up during a war wasn't exactly helping. So it's nice to finally relax for a while."

"And you deserve it. Both of you do." Said Sam looking down at Bucky, who was playing with Harley's ears. Steve smiled at Bucky then looked up to see Tony wearing a floral shirt and cargo shirts and carrying a wine bottle.

"Who's ready to party?" Asked Tony.

"Everyone here?" Asked Steve.

"No. Clint and family are in traffic, and who knows where Thor and Loki are. I'm considering leaving without them."

"You know Laura and Pepper will curse you out for that." Said Sam. Tony shrugged.

"Buckster, how are you?" Asked Tony. Bucky looked at him then hissed at him.

"Woah, when did he become a cat?"

"I don't know, but that isn't acceptable at all." Bucky looked up at him then smiled. An innocent smile that covered a mischievous mind. But nonetheless something Steve loved to see every day.

After an hour, Clint and his family arrived. Everyone was just waiting on Thor and Loki. Nobody could call them, so it was just a waiting game. Bucky got bored and inched away from Steve every few minutes. Eventually, he reached the pool area and put his hands in. It felt nice for a swim, but he didn't have swim clothes on. That wasn't going to stop him.

He was about slide in when two strong hands picked him up. "Can't go swimming in your clothes." Steve carried him on his hip. Bucky sighed and laid his head on his shoulder. "You can go swimming later, I promise." That sounded fair.

After another slow hour wait, Tony was getting annoyed and was seriously considering telling the captain to just go. Then a sudden bolt of lightning struck the dock. Scaring all of the workers.

"FRIENDS!" Yelled Thor. Loki was not as cheerful. Tony rolled his eyes and went to tell the captain. 

"Sam?" Whispered Steve.

"Yeah?" 

"Is he asleep?" Sam looked at Bucky then smiled. Bucky was blinking slowly, he probably was asleep until Thor came. 

"Struggling. He's trying so hard to stay up. You gonna him put in the room?"

"No, once I start moving he'll force himself to stay up. I'm sure he'll wake up a little more once he sees Loki." Bucky lifted his head a little at the name. Then Thor and Loki came to the top deck.

"Friends, it is nice to see you." Said Thor.

"What took you guys so long?" Asked Clint.

"Thor believed we had to go to the tower first. When we got there, no one was there expect a big man and he told us everyone was already on the boat." Said Loki.

"My mistake, but we are here. Let the cruising begin." Said Thor. Loki sighed then noticed Bucky.

"Little one." Said Loki coming to him. Bucky smiled at him. "Is he okay?"

"He's a little tired." Said Steve.

"No tired." Said Bucky. Steve rubbed his back.

"Alright, fellow Avengers and others. We will be taking off in ten minutes." Said Tony. While everyone talked, a few workers noticed Steve holding Bucky. Steve noticed that. Yeah, it was odd a grown man was holding another grown man like a child but Steve stopped caring about all that a few months ago.

Then Steve noticed that they were moving further away from the dock. Oh, they were moving. Bucky lifted his head, something felt off. Steve looked over the edge, they were probably a good hundred feet from the dock now. They were being tugged by littler boats into the open and Steve could vaguely feel the engines starting under his feet. 

And he was pretty sure if he put Bucky on his feet, it probably would feel like the world was vibrating under him. Not good.

"Everyone please come to the performing center for a cruise safety presentation on deck 4." Said an employee.

"Do we have to?" Grumbled Rumlow.

"Yes." Replied Steve. Rumlow rolled his eyes and followed the others down. Steve put Bucky on his feet, Bucky froze then started to whine. "You can feel that? This isn't good." As they walked downstairs, Bucky was becoming more sensitive to his surroundings. Hyperawarness.

This was the beginning of a meltdown. Luckily, Steve brought Bucky's travel bag and it had his sensory toys. 

When they arrived to the performance center, Steve and Bucky sat next to Sam. Steve gave Bucky his chewy and Lamby.

"Good morning, Avenger family. We welcome you to the Carolina Crown. My name is Captain Joshua Greensworth. First. I would like to go over some safety procedures." As Captain Joshua talked about safety, Steve kept an eye on Bucky. His rocking was starting and he was pulling on Steve's arm to get up.

"Sshh, everything is okay." Steve whispered. Bucky stared at him then at Harley.

The Captain and his crew finished the safety demonstrations. Then went on to talk about activities that will happen on the boat. And stuff to do on the islands. Then went on to say that they will not babysit any child. Then talked about where children can't be without an adult and that the rooms with children have child locks on all doors. And that all kids must wear a wristband.

No doubt Bucky would try to get it off.

After an hour of talking, the Captain wished everyone a fun voyage. Steve and Bucky left first and went straight to their room. Bucky started his rocking again but he was a bit calmer now. Steve looked outside, they were moving further out of the port and into the ocean.

"I hope this nothing like the Titanic. Bucky- oh no." Steve turned around and saw Bucky staring at the ceiling and trembling with a seizure. Harley had jumped on the bed, laying her body on his lap "It was a matter of time before these started." Steve rubbed his shoulder. After a minute, Bucky relaxed and laid down.

"You alright, Buck?" Bucky's eyes were still twitching a bit. Steve sighed and laid down in front of him. Steve smiled because he never realized how blue Bucky's eyes were. They looked to have a little bit of grey in them too almost like an ocean painting. But at times, they held pain. Steve couldn't tell if it was Bucky's or Winter's pain, but they both suffered trauma. It had to be both of them. Steve wished he could do more.

"Daddy?"

"Hey Buck, how do you feel?"

"Kay." Bucky rubbed his eyes then yawned.

"Sounds like nap time."

"No sleepy."

"Bucky, you're going to be exhausted by the end of the day. Please rest." Bucky shook his head then noticed the balcony door was open. He got up and went outside. It was pretty nice out here, Bucky looked down and noticed how close they were to the water. 

"Pretty." Said Bucky.

"Yeah, hey, while we're out here why don't we set some rules?" Smiled Steve. Bucky tilted his head. "First, you are not be alone on this boat. Even if Harley is with you, I need you to be with an adult that you recognize. So if you get lost, please look for one of them. Understand?" Bucky nodded. "Good. Second, you cannot be out here by yourself. If you want to be out here, ask me." Even though the door had a double lock, he had to make sure Bucky understood the rule. "More rules will be added as we go, but if any of them are broken that chair will be your corner." Bucky frowned at the mention of his corner. Probably thought Steve forgot all about that.

Then a knock.

"It's open." Said Steve. The door opened to a young woman.

"Good morning, my name is Catherine. I'll be your room service attendant. Is everything okay so far?"

"Yeah, I think we've figured everything out. Oh, actually, can you take all those glasses away? He will destroy them."

"Of course." She gathered all the glasses in her arms and set them in her cart. "I understand that he's the one with the disability. Is there anything I should know?" Steve sighed and began explaining that Bucky reacts terribly around strangers. So if any of the crew found him without the Avengers, he asks that they call someone to let them know. And also Bucky's tantrums weren't something to be afraid it was just like any other child tantrum, his meltdowns were the main concern because he was violent and he will hurt someone.

"Okay, I'll let my other crew members know about him. I'm happy to see that he wears a medical bracelet. But if you could get him to wear this bracelet too that would be great. It will help us identify what room he is in and also once we disembark on the island anyone there can identity which cruise he belongs to." She explained.

"Oh, that's good. This is really helpful. The only thing is, he's a biter. He will bite on his arm until it bleeds. So I don't know if this will last."

"I can make more. Is there anything else I should know or can do for you?"

"Um, where's the laundry room?"

"Deck 2. Third door on the right. No money is required to operate it and the instructions are written on the wall."

"Good."

"Anything else for now?"

"No. I think we're okay for right now."

"Alright, if you need me call this number and I'll come to you."

"Thank you, Catherine." Catherine left. Steve looked at the wrist band. It was a flexible blue plastic band with Bucky's full name and the cruise name. It looked durable for a child and probably an adult. But super soldier biting is a whole another thing. 

Steve put the wristband on Bucky's flesh wrist and made sure it was secured enough. Bucky looked at it then tried to bite his wrist.

"Don't. I know this weird, but it's for safety." And to save Steve sanity. Bucky flapped his wrist for a while, but it wasn't coming off. The urge to bite was getting stronger and whined at Steve.

"Off, please?" Steve made sure it was comfortable, he can fit his index and middle finger between his wrist and the band; so it wasn't tight. But Bucky was having a hard time with it. Sensory problems, probably. Steve gave Bucky his chewy and got out his tablet. Bucky laid on the floor and watched a movie. Steve decided to close his eyes for a while.

He woke up to crying and someone poking his cheek.

"Up?"

"Yeah, why are you crying?"

"Hungry." Steve looked outside, it was probably mid-afternoon by now. Steve hasn't ate all day and Bucky had a light meal. It was time for dinner. "Alright, let's go find something." 

They left the room and went to the deck below the top deck. Not many people were here. A few chefs and maids but none of the Avengers. Options weren't as limited as Steve thought they would be. They had a lot of soft foods and a lot of them were vegetables.

Steve got Bucky a plate of mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and shredded chicken. Steve got himself a steak and mashed potatoes. They sat down at a table and ate in somewhat peaceful silence. Steve barely finished his steak when he noticed Bucky was finished with his plate.

"That was fast. Are you still hungry?" Bucky somewhat nodded. Steve got up and got him more shredded chicken and mac and cheese. Bucky finished it in less than five minutes. He probably had been very hungry today and his routine was very thrown off. But Steve could see something was still off about him.

"Why don't we take Harley to use the bathroom then we'll go back to the room and get ready for bed?" Bucky frowned.

"Swim, promise?"

"You can swim tomorrow. I know I said later earlier today, but you just ate." Steve knew he promised him, but eating a full meal then swimming wasn't recommended. Steve got the plates and put them on the dirty rack then they went down to the lower levels. They found Harley's potty area and let her do her business. Once she finished, they went to their room. The sun was starting to set now and it looked beautiful against the ocean. Steve smiled at it then heard whining.

"What's wrong?" Bucky was pacing around the room, something he doesn't do unless something was really bothering him. "Buck, what's going on?" Bucky shook his head then started to cry.

"Do you want a bath or something?"

"Bath?" Steve got Bucky's animal farm onesie and a diaper and went in the bathroom. Bucky sat on the floor and cried again. Steve filled the tub then heard gagging.

"Oh." All of his dinner came back up. All of it was on his clothes. Bucky stared at himself then at Steve. "I figure that would happen soon. Okay, let's get these off of you." Steve carefully took off his clothes then put him in the tub. Bucky looked exhausted, luckily not in pain, just extremely tired. 

Once he got Bucky cleaned up and brushed his teeth, he laid Bucky in bed and rubbed his head. He texted Bruce on whether Bucky could take his medication on an empty stomach. He replied 'not recommended, something wrong?' Steve replied back the situation. Bruce answered 'if it was just the one time, then he probably overate too fast. If you could give him a few snacks just to put something on his stomach, that should be okay. If he vomits again, let me know.' Steve sighed, hoping this wasn't anything serious. He got a cup of applesauce and fed Bucky. He finished the cup then tried to lay down. "Stay up for another minute." Steve got all his medication and gave it to him. "I think today just caught up to you and got you a little sick. Plus you ate a little more than usual. Does your stomach still hurt?" Bucky shook his head. "Good. Just relax, okay? I know this is new for you. But you need to relax so you don't get too worked up." Bucky slowly fell asleep. Steve pinched the bridge of his nose then looked at the bathroom. He put Bucky's clothes in a trash bag, he would wash those early morning; then took a hot shower. He got in bed and sighed. 

Today wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. There wasn't a meltdown or even a tantrum. But he was 100% sure it was coming. Bucky handled the transition better than he thought, his routine was off a bit that was to be expected today and luckily they wouldn't be dealing with a time zone change. But other than the vomiting, the day went as well as it probably could have. Steve smiled at that then closed his eyes.

Hopefully tomorrow would be a better day for them.


	2. Monday/ Day at Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day two: a mistake leads to even bigger problem but everyone is okay in the end.

The next morning, Bucky woke up first. His stomach didn't hurt anymore but he still felt weird. Everything was moving and swaying. That wasn't normal. He looked over and saw Harley asleep, snoring on her bed as usual. That was always funny to wake up to. He looked at Steve and saw he was in a deep sleep. Probably wouldn't be up for a while. Bucky got out of bed and walked around the room, observing everything. He never noticed but this room was actually pretty big. Not as big as the bedroom at home, but close. Then he noticed the balcony door. He pushed the curtains away and stared outside. It was really pretty outside, seeing the sun rise on the ocean. He tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

Stupid child locks.

Now he was bored. Harley and Steve was still asleep and he couldn't open any of the doors. He looked for his tablet only to find that it was dead. Bucky whined then started to cry.

"Daddy?" Bucky said. Steve didn't stir. Bucky climbed back on the bed and poked his cheek until he woke up.

Finally, Steve moved and cracked an eye open "Buck, why are you up so early?" Bucky tilted his head. Steve turned his head to the clock. 9:48 a.m. That wasn't early. This was normal time for Bucky to wake up. Just not normal time for Steve to wake up. Steve sighed into his pillow. "Five minutes."

"On, please?" He showed him his tablet.

"It's probably dead, I forgot to charge it last night. You'll be okay without it for a while." Steve closed his eyes. Big mistake. For one thing, Bucky always watched Paw Patrol in the morning. It kept him regulated. Now he didn't know what else to do. Plus the diaper was becoming uncomfortable. So he poked Steve, everywhere. Then he poked Steve in his tickle spot. That got a reaction out of him.

"Alright, I'm up. You're real stubborn, you know that right?" Bucky smiled at him. Steve yawned then charged his tablet. He turned on the tv for anything resembling Paw Patrol, not much was child friendly. But he did find SpongeBob and that seemed to suit him for now. Steve got up and opened the curtains to let in some light.

"Go, please?" Bucky pointed outside.

"Let's get you cleaned up first." Steve bathed him then changed him into a t-shirt and shorts. Steve cleaned himself up then realized something. Bucky hasn't asked for milk since the trip started. He was okay with the water but usually after a glass or two of water, he wanted milk for the rest of the day. He never voiced this Bucky mainly because it was becoming that time where Bucky needed to cut down the amount of milk he drank. Four cups or more everyday probably needed to be down to two. One in the morning and one before bed. 

"Alright, Harley uses the bathroom first then we'll go eat." They left the room then went to lower levels. Harley did her business then they went back upstairs. Once they got to the dining area, Steve got himself pancakes and sausages and got Bucky an omelet with vegetables. Then Steve got an idea. "Why don't we eat breakfast outside up there?" Steve pointed up. Bucky nodded. They walked upstairs to the top deck and sat on the lounge chairs. Steve gave Harley a few sausages to keep her occupied for now. Bucky finished eating first, he looked at the ocean then at the water slides behind him. Both looked pretty cool to swim in.

"I know that look in your eyes, don't do anything stupid." Then Bucky hit his head.

"Until I get back, I know, Stevie." Bucky hit his head again. Then tried to chew on his wrist but Steve stopped him.

"Stop." Then Steve looked to Rumlow and Nat coming upstairs. "Look, it's papa and mommy." Bucky looked over at them then smiled.

"Papa."

"Hey, I didn't see you much yesterday." Rumlow sat down next to him Bucky sat in front of him and stared at his plate of food. "Not for you." He couldn't have anything on the plate anyway. Bacon, waffles and a muffin. Bucky looked over at Nat's. Waffles and fruits. He could probably eat those.

"Please?" He pointed to her plate.

"Can I eat first before you ask?" Asked Nat. Bucky sighed and waited as patiently as he could. "So I talked to Bruce this morning, is everything alright now?" She raised an eyebrow.

"It was to be expected. With all the transitions and things being changed, it was bound to happen." Said Steve.

"What happened last night?" Asked Rumlow.

"He threw up everything he ate last night." Said Steve.

"Oh, that's not good. You must be feeling better since you're asking for food."

"He just ate. Please don't give him anything unless he doesn't want to swim anymore."

"Swim." Bucky whined. Steve smiled. They all ate in somewhat comfortable silence. Eventually, Bucky realized nobody was giving him anymore food and he became a little upset. He wasn't hungry, he just wanted more food. But he was bored and all he could hear was the sound of the water area behind him fueling the urge to get in the pool. Rumlow was on his phone and Steve was talking to Natasha, he didn't want to be rude but Steve promised he could swim, so he did what he does best. Poke.

He poked Steve's side until he turned to him. "What?"

"Swim?"

"Rogers, give me your room key and I'll get him changed." Said Rumlow. Steve hesitantly gave Rumlow the room key and he left with Bucky.

"You know he's not calm, right?" Said Nat.

"What makes you say that?"

"First, he's hyperaware. He's staring at the water like it's going to jump at him. Plus, I've seen his pupils, they're still dilated. I know yesterday was a rough transition but I've watched his eyes, they've been dilated for too long."

"So he's still nervous, I thought by now he would calm down a little."

"I'm pretty sure his body has adjusted but his mind hasn't."

"What can I do?"

"Let him do what he do eventually when his mind realizes what's going on, he'll break down a little."

"A little is a lot in his world."

"Just support him." Then Rumlow and Bucky came back up. Bucky immediately went to the pool and sat down on the steps and looked around. Stark's pool was bigger and deeper, he liked that better. Plus he didn't have his usual pool toys. This wasn't a fun pool, but sitting in it was relaxing him just a little.

"Bucky?" Asked Steve. Bucky looked up at him. "Are you having fun?" Bucky nodded. "Okay, I'm going to go feed Harley so papa and mommy are going to watch you. Behave." Steve patted his head then left with Harley. Bucky looked at Rumlow and Nat for a minute then stared at the water.

"Hey guys." Said Tony coming up with Pepper. Tony was in swim trunks.

"Hey Stark." Said Nat.

"Mind if I join you, Buckster?" Asked Tony. Bucky looked up at him then shook his head. "Oh come on, I gift you a cruise and you deny me entrance to my paid pool? Oh, that's cold. I'm getting in anyway." Tony stepped a foot in and Bucky growled at him.

"Bucky, be nice." Nat firmly said. Bucky looked at her then let Tony in.

"See, we can share." Tony said and continued talking. Bucky wasn't listening. Stark always spoke non-sense. Then Loki and Thor came up the stairs. Loki sat next to Bucky outside the pool and Thor was talking loudly.

"This is a great endeavor, we should do more." Said Thor.

"If the world would stop attacking innocent people, maybe we could." Said Nat.

"That'll never happen." Said Loki. Everyone stared at him. "There will always be people to fight and there are more threats out there than you know." Said Loki. Everyone was quiet for a minute.

Then Tony mumbled "Way to ruin the moment."

"I'm being honest." Loki shrugged.

"Honestly, keep your mouth shut next time." Said Clint.

"Upset about something?"

"I was upset the moment you stepped on board." 

"You think your mortal words will affects me? I assure you they do not. There are greater threats out there."

"Nobody wants to hear that. So shut up."

"Do not disrespect me." Loki stood up which got Clint to stand up. Everyone else got up. But nobody noticed Bucky. He got out of the pool and walked away from the yelling. He managed to get to the dining area but no food was out. So he walked down another flight of stairs, looked like where everyone's room were. Nothing interesting. So he went down another. Now he wasn't sure where he was. He faintly recognized the large performance area on his right, but everything else in front of him was unfamiliar. Nobody was around and he felt weird not having Harley around.

"Sir?" Asked a young man. Bucky looked at him. "Is everything alright?" Bucky tilted his head then walked away from him. Now he felt a little nervous. Bucky walked down another flight of stairs until he found a door he couldn't get threw. Now he was scared. Usually the ceiling man would stop him from going places he shouldn't, but he wasn't here.

"Daddy?" Bucky whined. Nobody came. Bucky sat down and cried. Unfamiliar place and unfamiliar people, he was terrified.

On the top deck, arguing was replaced with concerned glances and frantic looking. 

"How do you tell Steve something like this?" Asked Clint.

"Better question, who's going to tell Steve?" Asked Tony. 

"Tell me what?" Asked Steve coming up the stairs. He immediately became tense when everyone's panicked eyes went to him.

"Steve, stay calm." Said Nat.

"Don't tell me that, Natasha. What's-? Steve immediately noticed someone was missing. His Bucky. "Where is he?"

"We don't know." Said Nat.

"WHAT! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" Yelled Steve.

"We were talking. Loki said something then Clint said something and they went back and forth. Then everyone got up and when I looked down, he was gone." Explained Tony.

"And nobody saw him?" Steve's voice was becoming dangerous. Everyone shook their heads. Steve took a few deep breathes then looked at them. "I'm not going to yell. I trusted you guys to watch him."

"Steve, nobody heard him leave." Said Tony. 

"Doesn't matter. There should have been at least one person with eyes on him. Bucky doesn't just disappear into thin air." Steve sighed then his phone rang. "What Sam?"

"Found your kid. Please, come get him, I can't handle a meltdown." Sam told him his room number. Steve flew down the stairs with Harley close by. Steve quicky found the room, luckily Sam left it unlocked. Steve entered. 

Bucky was having a meltdown. He already chewed his wrist badly and was hitting his head and screaming into his arm, his stomach had taken a few scratches but he wasn't hitting himself there. Steve immediately reacted and carefully touched Bucky. Bucky screamed at him then chewed his wrist.

"Bucky, I'm right here. It's okay." Steve knew Bucky barely heard him through his meltdowns but he had to say something. Bucky was vibrating with so much tension, Steve wasn't sure if he should touch him. He had to try something. Steve slowly touched his metal arm first, when he got no reaction he moved to a full body restraint. Bucky struggled against him and bit Steve's wrist a few times.

"Bucky, please. It's okay." Slowly, Bucky lost energy and relaxed a little. Steve sighed and talked to Bucky to settle him a bit more.

"Hey, can you look at daddy?" Asked Steve. Bucky was unresponsive for a minute then looked at Steve. "You're okay. Everything is okay." Bucky stared at him for a while then tried to fall asleep. Steve picked him up and carried him back to their room, ignoring everyone's else voices calling to him.

Once they got to the room, Steve got Bucky in a warm bath and cleaned his wrist and his head. None of the bites or cuts were deep, but nonetheless, it was a reminder how bad Bucky got during all this.

Steve got Bucky dressed in his lamb onesie and in bed. He found all of Bucky's stuffed animals and sensory toys. Bucky only wanted Lamby.

Then a knock.

Steve hesitated to get up but did and answered the door.

"Hey Bruce." Just the person he wanted to see actually.

"Nat told me what happened. How is he?"

"He chewed up his arm pretty bad and there's a cut on his head."

"Can I see if they need to be sewed up, please?"

"Yeah." Steve let him in and sat Bucky up.

"Hey, kiddo, can I get you to look at me?" Bruce didn't want to touch Bucky unless he was sure he was calm enough to be touched. But Bucky wouldn't look at him. "Is he usually out of it after meltdowns?"

"Yeah. He barely reacts to anything. I'll hold him." Steve laid Bucky against his chest while Bruce cleaned up the bites on his arm and wrapped it. He searched through his hair and found the tiny cut that was already healing.

"Other than spacing out, does he do anything after meltdowns?"

"Other than being super clingy, no. He might sleep through the day."

"If that's so then make sure he eats enough so he can take his medication tonight."

"Thank you, Bruce." Bruce waved bye then someone else stepped in. Natasha.

"I don't want to talk."

"Then listen. Everyone is upset about this, okay? Not just you." She crossed her arms.

"How? All I ask is for one thing and nobody can clearly do that."

"Steve, you forget who he is sometimes and that's exactly what happened. Nobody heard him get up and leave."

"This isn't about Winter. Bucky could have done anything while no one was watching him. This is probably the best case scenario but look at what happened anyway."

"And everyone is upset about that."

"What?"

"Loki, Thor, Clint and Tony have never seen Bucky go through a meltdown. They were horrified that Bucky hurts himself like that."

"He can't help it."

"I know and I explained that to them. But they blame themselves for not watching him and I do too."

"I'm not angry."

"Steve, it's okay to be angry at us. We deserve it. If you want and if Bucky is feeling better, everyone wants to have dinner tonight. Together."

"It depends on how he's feeling by then. Usually he falls asleep after this stuff."

"I can tell. I'll leave you guys alone."

"Nat."

"Yes?"

"You were right."

"About?"

"His mind catching up with everything. He really looked liked he didn't know where he was. I thought for a second since Sam found him he would be fine but-"

"It got to him too fast and nobody was there to stop him spiraling. And you're always there since the beginning to help during meltdowns. He was scared and very overwhelmed. It was bound to happen." Steve nodded. While he knew the meltdown was coming, he was more prepared for it to happen when he was close to Bucky. Not on another floor.

"Did he hurt Sam?"

"Sam said he pushed him away a few times before he realized what was going on. When he finished calling you, Bucky had just started screaming."

"Did he say how he found him?"

"A worker went looking for one of us, found Sam and told him that Bucky was wondering downstairs, looking lost. Sam went looking for him and found him by the crew's staterooms, crying and scared. He brought up to his room and he said something just snapped in Bucky and this happened."

"I'll thank him when I see him."

"Okay, get some rest. Think about tonight." Nat left. Steve took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He looked over at Bucky who was asleep.

This day was already a mess and it wasn't even 2 in the afternoon. Steve felt bad, a decent part this was his fault because he wasn't back sooner. But more than 80% of it was on everyone else. Anything could've happened to Bucky and nobody would know. Getting lost on the ship was scary, but if he went overboard, Steve would've had a heart attack on the spot.

But now, he didn't want to think about what could have happened and was focused on the man cuddled into his arms.

Bucky slept a little longer than usual. By the time he woke up, the sun was going down and Steve was able to clear his mind a bit to make sure Bucky was okay after all that. He was almost back to his normal self, a little slow reacting, but getting better and playing with Harley.

"Buck?" Bucky didn't turn for a minute then turned to him.

"Why did you leave the pool area?"

"No yelling."

"You didn't like them yelling, I got that but why did you go so far down? You could have sat in the dining area and waited."

Bucky must have heard a shift in his tone, he started to look a little fearful "Angry?"

"Not angry, just concerned. So I'm going to try something and see if it works." In the midst of the meltdown, Bucky had biten off his cruise wrist band and left a few bites on medical bracelet. He called Catherine and she gave him a new one. "Okay, you see this number right here?" Steve pointed, Bucky nodded.

"This number is our room number. So if you ever find yourself wondering without someone again, look here, find this room and sit by the door. And just stay there until someone finds you and can help you. I don't want a repeat of today, understand?" Bucky somewhat nodded. Steve would probably have to go over that a few more times. Then his phone buzzed.

'Please, come to dinner.😢'- Stark.

Steve sighed. He didn't want to see anyone today, but this had to be settled and he didn't want anyone feeling guilty on a vacation.

So he fed Harley and they took her downstairs to use the bathroom. Then made their way up to the dining area. Once there, Steve saw everyone gathered around a large rectangular table.

"They made it." Said Tony. "Really thought I would have to bring dinner to you." This was a buffet style dinner and Bucky had his eye on pasta.

"Please don't." Steve sat down next to Sam and Bucky was next to Natasha. Steve could feel the tension, Loki looked more upset than usual and Thor had his head down in shame. Steve fixed a plate of pasta for Bucky and got himself a few pieces of fried chicken breast and green beans.

"Okay, we have move the elephant in the room. Steve, we're sorry." Said Tony.

"Tony don't-"

"No, it was our fault. We should have been more responsible and for that we're sorry."

"It's fine, just please if he's with you guys watch him closely please. I don't want to jump in the ocean to find him." And just being past North Carolina wasn't comforting that there was no land for a few hundred miles. 

"We understand your worry, Captain and it will never happen again. But I have a question." Said Thor. "Why does the young one harm himself like that?"

"Bucky has little to no control over himself during meltdowns. I don't know exactly why he hurts himself so badly but his therapist explained to me that something overwhelming him too much makes him do that. And the biting and screaming is the only way he can express that."

"Are they not the same as his tantrums?" Asked Thor.

"Tantrums are controlled behaviors. If I tell him something he doesn't want hear or get him to do something he doesn't want to do, he gets upset but he can stop himself and calm down. I have to physically restrain him during meltdowns and it's hard when he's just as strong as me."

"It was a little distressing to see the young one harm himself and I will blame myself that I couldn't have helped."

"Thor, there wasn't much anyone could have done. I was expecting the meltdown at any point today, I just wished it under different circumstances. And I don't try to get anyone to learn how to restrain him because no one can handle his strength."

"Can he not hear anyone in that state?" Asked Loki.

"From what I've went through, barely. Something in his brain is overpowering his senses so nothing really works until he runs out of energy. Sensory toys and Harley can only do so much. Even with me, he'll bite me just because I'm touching him."

"So you are saying he does not feel his own biting?" Asked Loki.

"He will bite himself until he bleeds. But luckily that's the worst it's gotten."

"I feel like I have failed the young one." Said Thor.

"Thor, he's fine. Look at him." Thor looked up. Bucky was covered in red pasta sauce but that wasn't stopping him.

"I suppose he is alright. I will do better to watch him when he is in my presence."

"Thanks, Thor."

"We'll all do better." Said Nat. Steve felt relieved that everyone understood the situation and would be a little more careful around Bucky.

"Now, let's talk other not serious matters. In two hours, it's game night child-friendly but still fun games. You up for it, Cap?"

"Uh, what time is all this?"

"Nine-tenish." 

"He needs to be in bed by ten."

"I'm sure you can make an expectation, Steve." Said Tony. Steve looked at Bucky, he wasn't showing being tired again but that could change.

"Maybe just this once. But once he takes his medication, he won't last long."

"One round, just to see his reaction."

"Why is his reaction so important?"

"It just is." Tony shrugged. Steve mumbled under his breath and looked at Bucky. He finished his food and was snatching food from the middle of the table. His next victim, ham slices.

"Bucky." Bucky froze then stared at Steve. "Drop it." Bucky thought for a moment then put it in his mouth. Everyone laughed much to Steve's shock.

"Well done, kid." Said Rumlow.

"You test me everyday, I swear but I still love you." Everyone talked for a while, Bucky was still snatching food then one of the chefs laid a few cakes and pies on the table. Bucky tried to grab for the cake, but Steve grabbed his hand and told him to wait. He got his ice cream cake piece last and went through that faster than usual. 

"More, please?" Bucky asked.

"No more, you've had a lot." Plus Steve didn't want to handle vomit again. Bucky growled at him then looked at Nat and signed more.

"I love you but no. Steve would blow his head if I gave you more." Said Nat. Bucky blew a frustrated breath then went under the table to Harley. She looked lonely under here. Why doesn't she sit on a chair like everyone else? Was because she was a dog or because she didn't talk? Either way, Bucky wanted to help her, so he went back up to his chair and looked around. Steve had a few pieces of chicken on his plate, Harley loved chicken. So Bucky slowly slid the plate from Steve and went back under. He gave Harley the chicken and smiled, hopefully he wouldn't get in trouble.

"Where did my plate go?" Asked Steve. Bucky was a little afraid but maybe he would understand so he went back to his chair. "Buck, where's my plate?"

"Doggy." Steve looked down to see Harley licking his plate.

"Oh, Bucky, we're lucky there was no bones in that or any sauce. Why would you do that?"

"Hungry."

"Okay, we're going to the room for a bit, we'll meet you at the performance center." Steve got the licked clean plate from under the table and took his three year old trouble maker and his assistant back to the room.

He fed Harley first and got Bucky into a quick bath and into cleaner pajamas. After a lecture about giving Harley table food, Steve gave Bucky his medication and a bottle of water. Bucky stared at the water.

"Milk?"

"Sorry, buddy. Can you just take a few sips to get it down?" Bucky shook his head then swallowed the pills dry. Steve internally cringed knowing that isn't good for his throat, but if that's how far Bucky was willing to go without drinking milk then Steve may need advice. Steve stepped out for a second almost bumping into Laura.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. How's Bucky?"

"Back to normal, being a troublemaker."

"Great to hear. I have to finish laundry. I'll see you around."

"Oh, hey Laura, I'm sorry, but can I ask for advice?"

"Of course, but I'm not sure if I can give a full answer."

"How do I get Bucky to drink more water?" She smiled and explained the different steps that helped her kids. But she had to remind him that Bucky learns differently, so the methods she used may not work, but it's worth a shot. She told him it was best to start after the cruise to minimize a tantrum. Steve agreed and was told to ask the chefs for a pint of milk at night. Steve mentally slapped himself for not thinking about that sooner but nonetheless thanked Laura for the advice. 

Steve went back in the room, Bucky was chewing on the corner of his regular blanket.

"Are you bored?" Bucky nodded. "Okay, we'll go get your milk then we'll go play a few games with the others." Bucky smiled and carried his Paw Patrol blanket and Lamby with him. They went to the performance center. The room hasn't changed much but there was tables and there was only three chairs for each. Tony, Pepper and Bruce were already at a table. Thor and Loki were in the middle of an argument. Clint, Cooper and Lila were at a table. Steve sat down at a table Bucky sat next to him and stared at everyone who passed by.

"Mind if I sit here?" Asked Rumlow.

"Sure." Said Steve.

"Wasn't asking you." Rumlow sat next to Bucky. Bucky smiled, he climbed on his lap and laid his head on chest. "I missed you. How's your arms?"

"Owie."

"They still hurt a little? I'm sorry. I don't like seeing you like that."

"Scary."

"Yeah, hopefully you won't have to experience that again." Bucky smiled and got comfortable. There was no way he was going to stay up during all this. 

"Alright, welcome to the first game night of the cruise. First up is Bingo. Everyone has a card and a stamp. We are going to assume everyone knows how to play, so let's begin." Said a young man worker. As they went through the first round, Bucky and Rumlow weren't playing. Bucky was nearly asleep and Rumlow was just enjoying holding him.

"BINGO!" Yelled Tony also spooking Bucky.

"Alright, congratulations Mr. Stark. Let's start the next round." After another ten minutes, Sam and Thor yelled Bingo at nearly the same time. But Sam won that round because he called out a second early.

"I demand a rematch." Demanded Thor throwing down his card. After another round, Cooper won one. Then the next, Pepper won. This was the final round and Steve wasn't having much faith on winning but he only has one more on his diagonal line.

"G-39." He had that. Oh, crap he had that.

"Bingo." Steve said. Everyone looked at him. A worker came up to him and checked his card. She nodded.

"He's good."

"Congrats, Captain Rogers." Everyone clapped. Thor wasn't exactly pleased again. A crew member gave him a gift bag. Steve looked at Bucky, he was out.

"He needs to go to bed."

"Can I keep him tonight?"

"No. Give him."

"I'll carry him." They got up and walked out the performance area.

"Cappuccino, where are you going?" Asked Tony stepping out behind them.

"To bed."

"All three of you?" Tony smirked.

"Don't do that, Tony."

"Just saying, you three look suspicious." Tony laughed then walked back into the performance area. Steve sighed and they went to the staterooms. Once they got to Steve's room, Steve let Harley in first. But for some reason, Rumlow wasn't letting Bucky go.

"Seriously?" Asked Steve.

"Just for tonight, that's all I'm asking."

"No and that's final." Rumlow gripped Bucky tighter which caused him to stir. "I swear if you wake him up, we're going to have problems." Even Rumlow didn't want face Bucky when he was just waking up, so he passed Bucky to him.

"Fine, but I want time with him tomorrow."

"I'll think about it." Steve took Bucky from him and went in his room. He laid Bucky on the bed and got himself dressed in his pajamas. He laid in bed and deeply sighed.

Today wasn't bad, just rough. The meltdown had taken all out of Bucky and Steve but that didn't stop them from having a somewhat good day. And Steve felt better that everyone would take better care of watching Bucky. But that feeling was quickly replaced by the worry of tomorrow. They would be reaching land tomorrow and the amount things that could go wrong on the boat equally matched the amount of the things that could go wrong on land. They were on unfamiliar territory, Steve didn't know the lay out of anything or know anybody on the island. Bucky got easily lost and overwhelmed in new places. Everyone would be out probably doing their own thing, nobody was going to want watch for a three year old while Steve tried to relax.

Steve sighed and sent a quick text to his therapist. She replied 'you can only make the trip extremely stressful if you let it. You can do what works for you and your boy. Bucky will be naturally afraid of a new environment, but you have to show him that he will be okay as long as you are with him. If you feel relaxed, he will be relaxed.'

That probably was the best advice she could give him at this point. If he felt stressed, Bucky felt stressed and it was magnified to him. He could only relax Bucky once they got there and make sure he stayed within reach. Maybe this wouldn't be as stressful as he thought.

Maybe for once Steve could relax and forget about Captain America for a day.


	3. Tuesday/ Nassau Island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first island of the cruise, Steve finds time to relax. But there is always something going on.

When Steve woke up, he could hear something unusual. He looked over, Bucky was still asleep but not for long with all this noise. Steve slowly got out of bed and looked through the curtains.

They were at the island. And the noise he was hearing was the larger cruise boats docking. 

"Good morning, Avenger family. Today, we are at the Nassau Island. There are many fun activities to do and we ask everyone respect their culture and be back on board by 7:00 p.m." Said the cruise Captain. That was fair, but it wasn't fair that he woke up Bucky. Bucky looked around, bed hair covering his eyes.

"Daddy?" 

"Yes, pal?" Asked Steve, pushing his hair back.

"Noise?"

"We're at the island and there's a ship parked next to us. It's a little loud out there."

"Home?"

"Not home. Just an island. We'll have so much fun." Bucky sat up and rubbed his eyes. Steve opened the curtains a little more and opened the door. It was a beautiful island, but Steve was shocked when he saw the cruise boat next to theirs. That boat made them look like an ant. There had to be at least 3,000 people on there. That boat had anxiety and panic written all over it. If they were on a boat that size, Steve wouldn't let Bucky off his harness at all.

"Alright, let's get the day started. We're going to have relax time and explore." Said Steve getting comfortable clothes for both of them. Steve got Bucky in a bath first, then dressing him in shorts and a Captain America shirt. He put on his swim shorts under his normal shorts, so it would be easier to get him in the water. Steve took a shower and got dressed in his wifebeater and shorts and packed his swim shorts, he wasn't planning on swimming but he will if Bucky wants to. He fed Harley then noticed Bucky was outside looking down at something. 

Then Bucky put his feet on the rails. Major red flag.

"Bucky, what did I tell you?" Bucky tilted his head then pointed.

"Fishes." The water was so clear that you could see fishes, but that wasn't excusable for climbing on the rails.

"Chair, now. Ten minutes." Bucky frowned then started to cry. But he sat on the chair and continued to cry. Steve ignored his grabby hands and packed Bucky's travel bag. He put Harley's service dog information in there just in case anyone asked.

After a slow, ten minutes Bucky was released from the chair. They went up to the dining area and ate a quick breakfast. Harley used the bathroom and they made their way to the unloading dock.

"Have a good day." Said the crew. Getting Bucky off the boat was almost as hard as getting on. The only thing that probably made it easier was that Bucky knew the ground was stable and he moved a little quicker to get off.

It was pretty warm here. If Steve had to guess the temperature, he would think high 80's. Not bad, Manhattan usually felt this warm during summer. The only difference was the cool ocean breeze making it a bit more manageable.

They walked through the port and found themselves near the beach. A lot of people here. Newlyweds, a few children, the Bahamian citizens and weirdly, a private area that Steve could guess was for. Not for child eyes. So they walked around for a while.

The smell of food was a bit overpowering but still smelled good, the smell of tropical fruits and seafood was new to them but still smelled appetizing. Every restaurant was like an outside bar. Steve hoped they had soft foods, it would be a shame if Bucky couldn't try the food. After walking around, Bucky wanted to swim.

Getting to the beach was interesting because Bucky hasn't felt sand under his feet. Hands, yes. But Bucky was sensitive about his feet. New textures threw him off. "It's okay, it's just like the kinetic sand mommy gave you." That didn't exactly help. But Bucky crouched down and felt the sand. Weird, gritty, rocky texture. Not really like the kinetic sand, but close. Harley didn't seem to mind too much about the sand.

As they walked down to a more non-populated part of the beach, Steve noticed a red head. He immediately knew who that was.

"So you really won't wear bikinis anymore?" He smiled.

"You said it yourself, I'd look terrible in them." She was wearing a black, lacey swim suit cover up over a one piece swim suit but Steve couldn't tell if she was actually going to swim, probably not, she looked more relaxed resting in the shade. She pulled down her sun glasses and looked at Bucky.

"He seem to be doing just fine."

"Surprisingly. Where are the others?"

"Stark and Pepper are doing whatever. Clint and his family are swimming with the dolphins. Thor and Loki are exploring the whole island. Sam is in the water somewhere and Rumlow just left to get me a drink."

"Did you ask him or you made him?"

"More like threw my sandal at him. Why don't you sit down and relax, Rogers?"

"Well, um, Bucky-"

"Is literally playing with sand and having the best time ever. Sit." Steve scooted two lounge chairs next to her and sat down. This felt oddly satisfying. "Feel better?"

"I guess." Then Rumlow came back with a margarita.

"You can't order me around like that."

"I can hit you again." Rumlow huffed then spotted Bucky.

"Hey kid, do you want to go swimming?"

"Swim?" But there was no pool. Everyone was swimming in the ocean so maybe he could too. "Swim?" He pointed to the ocean. Rumlow nodded.

"I know it looks scary, but I'll be with you."

"Okay." Bucky got up but Steve stopped him.

"I'll go too."

Then Nat said "No you won't. Steve, you stay. Brock, take the baby." Rumlow smiled. Steve took off his regular shorts and shirt. Rumlow took Bucky into the shallow water. Steve wasn't really happy.

"Why would you do that?" Asked Steve.

"Because you need to freaking relax. He will be fine with Rumlow. You, on the other hand, need to sit down and just breathe in the ocean. This is the only few times you will be away from him and you need to enjoy it." She said firmly. And she was right. It would be good just to sit back and relax and take in the ocean view.

"Okay, I can do that."

"Good. Now, don't bother me unless Winter decides he wants to play or the boat is on fire." She pulled her sunglasses back down. Steve sat back on the chair and finally took a relaxing breath. Harley didn't seem to content with getting in the ocean so she laid on the chair next to him. Steve looked back at Bucky and Rumlow. Bucky was smiling and having fun in the water, even going under a few times. Maybe this was what he needed.

After twenty minutes, Bucky came out the water and sat next to Steve. He didn't say a word, he just sat there. That never happens.

"You okay? You look upset?" Bucky looked up at him. Nothing seemed wrong. Rumlow came out the water and sat in his chair.

"What happened? Why does he look upset?"

"He saw a fish. The fish was kind of playing with him, you know, just swimming around him. Then it swam off. He got confused, probably the fish was his friend or something."

"Oh, well bud, there's plenty of fish in the sea. You'll find another." Bucky tilted his head. Something about that look told Steve that Bucky was really thinking about something and he couldn't figure it out.

"How far did you guys go?" 

"Past the boats. And he went down pretty far, I'm surprised he held his breath for so long."

"Probably would swim all day if he could." 

"Dory." Whined Bucky.

"Dory?" Steve questioned. Did Bucky name the fish?

"You know that blue fish from Finding Nemo. That's what's he was playing with." Said Rumlow. Steve connected the pieces. Dory was Bucky's favorite fish on Finding Nemo, he probably did get upset seeing the fish leave.

After a quiet twenty minutes, Steve was nearly falling asleep when Harley started to growl. Harley doesn't growl unless Bucky is in danger. Steve looked over at Bucky playing in the sand, he seemed fine.

"What's she growling at?" Asked Rumlow. Steve got up and looked around Bucky. Then he saw it. A snake in front of him and his hand was going near it.

"Bucky, move." Steve grabbed his flesh arm so quickly, it took Bucky a minute to process it.

"What is it?" Asked Nat removing her glasses.

"A snake." Rumlow and Nat immediately got up. Steve also grabbed Harley by the vest and moved away from the dangerous creature.

"Daddy?" Bucky started to cry.

"It's okay, where you playing with that? Did it hurt you?" Bucky shook his head and cried. Not hurt, just spooked. Steve could deal with that.

"It's a constrictor 2 feet long. Not venomous, but would leave a nasty bite. They squeeze the life out of their prey." Said Nat. Steve sighed, that thing was less than a foot from Bucky's hands and Bucky didn't know about dangerous animals. Everything looked friendly to him unless proven otherwise, but snakes are unpredictable and if Harley hadn't growled, who knows what could have happened.

"Thank you Harley." Said Steve scratching her head. She deserved a treat later.

"Alright, let's go find go to Stark's beach house, I need a serious drink now." Said Nat. Steve agreed but didn't put Bucky on his feet, he wasn't wearing his shoes and Steve was too paranoid to set him down.

Natasha led them to Stark's private beach house, everyone was there. Steve found a lounge chair outside and held Bucky for a while.

"Hey man, you look like you've seen a ghost." Said Sam sitting next to him.

"A snake was near Bucky by the beach and it was too close to his hands. If Harley hadn't growled, I wouldn't have known."

"Sorry to hear that man. I guess that's why he looks so upset."

"I grabbed him. I never grab him, I didn't mean to-"

"Steve, you saved him. He'll be fine. You want something to drink?"

"Sure." Sam got up and went outside. "You know I didn't mean to grab you so hard, right?"

"Hurt." There wasn't a bruise or anything on his skin, but Steve still felt bad.

"I'm sorry, I had to get you away from that snake." Steve hugged him, Bucky would probably be over it within an hour. Steve? Not so much. He was expecting the most dangerous thing to be Bucky getting lost, not animals sneaking up on him. Steve felt like he should have done his research better or someone could have warned him.

"Orange juice for you and a Shirley Temple for you." Said Sam handing over the drinks.

"What's in this?" Steve poured orange juice in Bucky's cup then stared at the Shirley Temple.

"Stuff that isn't alcohol. Try it." Steve took a hesitant sip. It was nothing he has tried before but then again Steve Rogers stopped drinking a long ago.

"Not bad."

"I asked the bartender not to put any alcohol in it, I figured your super-soldier serum would burn through it so why bother."

"It does."

"What was that like, figuring out you can't get drunk?" Sam chuckled. Steve instantly flashed back to that moment. Bucky had just 'died' and the bar was destroyed. Peggy found him when he was breaking down. Nothing mattered to him other than putting an end to Hydra once and for all but it was at that moment Steve wished he could get drunk.

"I don't want to talk about it." Sam must've saw him grip Bucky a little tighter because he talked about something else quickly. Bucky finished his juice and got comfortable on Steve. If he had to guess, it was probably around twelve. Perfect timing for a nap to set in. 

"Looks like he enjoys this as much as you."

"I'm glad." Slowly, Bucky fell asleep. Steve smiled and stroked his hair. He sort of wished he could spend the rest of their lives here, but nothing he asked for ever came just like that. So he just relaxed and enjoyed the moment.

Steve seriously didn't remember going to sleep, but when he woke up he could hear Tony talking. He looked to his right and saw Tony talking to Bucky about something.

"Oh, look who's up?" Tony pointed to him. Bucky turned around and smiled.

"Daddy, up?"

"Yeah, what are you talking about?"

"Snakes. Telling him how they are just big worms with teeth." Tony shrugged.

"Why?"

"Well, he needs to know what snakes are in case he finds one again."

"But telling him snakes are worms will make him think worms nice because they don't have teeth." Tony froze and stared at Bucky, who was still into his story telling about worms with teeth.

"You know Buckster, there are guys on YouTube who can explain snakes so much better than me. You should listen to them." Tony patted his shoulder then left. 

Steve sighed "What did he tell you?"

"Worm, teeth."

"Try not to listen to Tony one hundred percent of time." Bucky nodded then got up. Steve looked at him to see where he was going. Bucky made his way to dining table then went under the table. Steve's eyebrows went to his hairline. A worker bent down under the table and gave him something. Then Bucky came from under the table holding a few slices of ham.

"Food." He gave the slices of meat to Harley, who happily took them.

"Why are you doing all that just to get meat?"

"Said no."

"Who said no?" Bucky looked through the crowd and pointed to a man. Late 50's wearing a way too fancy suit. "Did he say why?"

"No." Steve frowned then got up. He tapped on the man's shoulder and asked to talk to him.

"How may I help you sir?"

"Did you tell my boy no while he was getting food?"

"I did. He fed pieces to that large animal. This is quality meat it does not go to mutts." Now Steve felt offended.

"Don't call Harley a mutt. She is a purebred, first of all. And she saved his life today, so if you ask me she deserves to be treated like royalty today." The man frowned, Steve frowned along with him. 

"Dogs are not allowed quality food."

"Get over it. It's meat. Comes from an animal, feeding her a few pieces will not ruin your life. Don't tell him no again." Steve walked away. The man had annoyed him enough, he would never understand why people made such a fuss over trivial things. He would understand if it was that was the last type of meat on Earth. But it wasn't. It was just sliced ham with seasoning. They would be fine.

After a few hours of chatting and dining, the Avengers spilt up again to do their own thing before it was time to get on the boat. Steve decided to explore the island just to see the different sights. Bucky was finding his sense of adventure again, so Steve harnessed him. He was not losing him on this island. They found many weird things on the island. Different animals, weird plants and some weird people. The music they played was also different, nothing either of them have heard before. Steve liked it, Bucky didn't. Mainly because it was loud and that was a sensory problem making it worse.

They ended up back on the beach then they noticed something swimming in the water. A pig. Actually there was five pigs. Steve has seen many things in his long but short life and yet seeing a pig swimming was up there. Even Bucky looked genuinely confused at the animal swimming. The people in the water didn't seem to have a care in the world that a pig was swimming feet from them. Was this an everyday thing? Where was these animal's owners?

"Swim?"

"I didn't know pigs could swim either, Buck. Learn something new everyday." 

"Home?"

"We'll be home in a few days."

"No, home." Bucky pointed to the boat.

"Oh, you want to go back on the boat?" Bucky nodded. "Can we do a few more things then we can go?" Bucky frowned but nodded. Steve wanted to get a few souvenirs before they left and some food. He had to admit, he was a little tired of boat food. It wasn't bad, but he needed a break. They walked around and found the restaurant that caught Steve's attention earlier. Steve looked at the menu, there wasn't much soft foods and Bucky wasn't going eat soups that wasn't chicken noodle. Bucky could probably eat the shrimp and grits. He loved grits but he's never had shrimp and he was certain Bucky wasn't allergic to shellfish. So he ordered shrimp and grits for Bucky and got himself a fish taco. He also ordered an apple crisp because the waitress said it was basically a deconstructed apple pie with ice cream. 

After a fifteen minute wait and Bucky playing in the sand again, they got their food and went to gift shop. Bucky was disappointed at the lack of stuffed animals. Steve found a shark tooth necklace and a woven bracelet. Bucky already had enough on his wrist, so he could have the necklace. He purchased the items and made their way back to the boat.

Bucky got on the boat quicker than he has before. Everyone was right, he needed time and exposure to get used to something new.

With only two hours left until departure time, Steve expecting the Avengers to spend every moment they could on the island. He didn't mind, they needed it. But he wasn't expecting to find Loki on the boat by himself. He looked like he didn't want to be bothered and Steve wasn't going to start anything with him right now. They went down to their room and weirdly enough there was towel folded animal sitting on the bed. Steve couldn't exactly tell what it was until Bucky asked 

"Doggy?"

"Yeah, I guess that could be a dog." Steve didn't even know towels could be folded up in such a way. It was really cool and keeping it away from Bucky probably would a little difficult. So he put it on a shelf and told him not to touch it. 

"Let's take Harley to use the bathroom then we can all eat." Bucky didn't want to move because he smelled the apple crisp in the to go box. Steve promised him he could have the ice cream part once he finished his food. They went down to the lower levels and let Harley do her business. While making their way back upstairs, Bucky pulled on Steve's arm to make him walk faster. But Steve wasn't rushing to do anything. 

They reached the room in fifteen minutes instead of the usual ten because Steve 'accidently' pushed the wrong button on the elevator. Bucky death stared him the entire ride up the floor, but Steve couldn't help but laugh. Once they reached the room, Steve sat Bucky down at the table and gave him food. Luckily, Bucky had enough sense to slow down when he realized this was a new texture in his mouth. He avoided the shrimp, but he looked interested in trying it.

Steve tore the tails of the shrimp and cut them up into smaller pieces "chew, slowly." Bucky put one in his mouth and tried chewing, he immediately looked at Steve's jaw and tried following it. "Is it good?"

"Fishy?"

"Yeah, it's kind of a fish. Is that okay?" Bucky nodded and took another bite. Steve sighed in relief that he could get Bucky to eat foreign food now. He wasn't sure if the other islands had similar foods but now he was a bit more confident that Bucky was comfortable trying. After he finished his food and Steve was satisfied with his fish tacos. It was time for dessert. Steve gave Bucky a spoon and he dug into the ice cream. The apple crisp part was pretty good. Steve still preferred a homemade American apple pie but this was pretty good.

"Here, try." Steve gave a spoonful to Bucky and he froze. 

"Pie?"

"Not pie, but close. It's pretty good, isn't it?" Bucky smiled then rubbed his head.

"It's not your ma's pie but yeah, it's pretty good." Bucky hit his head then smiled at him.

"I would have to agree with you on that." Steve cleaned up their area then fed Harley a cup of her own food. Then there was a knock. He opened the door to Sam and Rumlow.

"We figured you guys were on the boat." Said Sam.

"Sorry, did we miss out on something?"

"Stark and Thor got chased by a pig in the water, which was hilarious." Said Rumlow.

"I can imagine. Come in." He let them in. Bucky was on his tablet when he saw them enter.

"Papa."

"Hey, kid. Did you have fun today?" Bucky nodded and pointed to the towel dog. "Did you do that?" Bucky shook his head.

"That was in here when we got in. I think our room maid did that, I'll have to thank her."

"Pretty cool. We really came here because we had a concern and we thought you should be aware to." Said Sam.

"Should I sit down?" Sam nodded. Steve took a deep breath and sat down on the bed.

"Now, we're not really sure if it will become a problem but some people have noticed Bucky's arm. And we're a little concerned that maybe Winter isn't welcomed. Well, I shouldn't say not welcomed, more like wanted."

"Oh no. But Tony wouldn't bring us to a place where he was wanted."

"Steve, Winter is an international criminal. Countries want him dead, we're not sure if these people know exactly who he is." Said Rumlow.

"I don't think they do. Natasha knows almost everything about Winter and if she hasn't raised an alarm by now, I'm not going to stress over it." Steve was already stressed about it but he was working not to make it a reason to go home. Steve looked at the white star on Bucky's metal arm, his freedom star. "If anything, he's a veteran who lost his arm in battle. And they can fight me all they want on that."

"Okay, just be careful. We didn't mean to bring this up but it was now or later when something happened." Said Sam.

"No, thanks for bringing it up. I didn't think it would matter as long as Bucky was with us."

"And that's a good thing. They know he is good." Then they heard a crash. Bucky tipped over a lamp. "Most of the time." Laughed Sam. They talked a little while, eventually into the departure time. Bucky went outside to stare as they passed the bigger ships. Sam and Rumlow left after a little while. Steve sighed, he really didn't think about Winter being wanted would be a concern. But it was. Surely, Hydra wouldn't come to the Bahamas to hurt anybody, they were cold-blooded people and Steve was sure they wouldn't bring Winter to an island.

His thoughts stopped enough just a little before ten for him to think about something else "Buck, come inside so we can get ready for bed." Bucky looked at him then got up. Steve bathed him and dressed him in his flannel pajamas. Once he got him to take his medication and in bed, Steve decided to skip the shower for tonight and get in bed. Bucky looked at him and laid on his chest.

"Okay?"

"It's not something you can probably answer, but do you remember coming here at all?" Bucky shook his head. "I suppose Winter doesn't either." The dark flash in his eyes confirmed his question. Winter had his mind wiped after every mission, they wouldn't have allowed him to do anything.

"We're going to be okay. No matter what happens, we'll always be okay." Steve rubbed his head. Bucky fell asleep. Steve took a little longer to fall asleep, the wanted problem bothered him and would probably be a problem until they got back into the States. But then he remembered Bucky smiling mostly all day. It helped pushed back the thoughts and calm his mind. And actually Bucky was smiling in his sleep.

"The world has been so cruel to you, you deserve nothing but the best, Buck. I just want you to enjoy this trip without having to worry about your past." Bucky was still smiling. Steve smiled at him and sighed. 

"We're going to be okay. I promise I won't let anyone take you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Snakes are just big worms with teeth- I have no idea what inspired me to write that but when I wrote it in a Tony voice it made so much sense.


	4. Wednesday/Half Moon Cay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone makes a visit and Steve learns a new thing about him.

The morning started off pretty normal. Nothing extraordinary happened. They would be at the next island within the hour but for now Bucky was on his tablet watching a movie while Steve was on the phone with Bucky's therapist giving an update.

"He's doing really well, I'm really proud of him." Steve smiled.

"I am too. I'm glad to hear he's only had one meltdown so far. Has he had any other irregularities?"

"Not really, he's hyperaware all the time. But like you said, it's a new environment he's going to be like that. I am finding that he's testing his independence a lot."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, he wants to wonder around but he'll hesitate. Sometimes, I think he'll just run around but he won't."

"Well that is good that he is testing himself. He needs to figure out where his limits are. Has Winter came out at all?" 

"Not really. I see little flashes here and there. But never fully."

"Don't forget to include him too, Mr. Rogers. He needs exposure too."

"But Winter doesn't understand this whole trip and even if he did, he'll think he's on a mission. There's so many animals here and he doesn't know how to be gentle."

"Now is a good time to learn. Have him around animals and other things to make him understand that his world doesn't have be mission based anymore. Try to make him relax." As much as Steve wanted to keep Winter dormant in Bucky's head during the trip, he did need exposure.

"I understand. I'll talk to him." They said their goodbyes. Steve looked at Bucky, he was gentle when he wanted to be. Winter didn't know gentle. Pain and discipline was what he knew. And his trust level wasn't exactly that great either. But if he started to understand the world around him, maybe he would start to change.

"Daddy, hungry."

"You just ate." This was also new. Bucky's appetite was steadily increasing. Steve didn't know notice until this morning that Bucky was asking constantly for food. He ate an omelet today and he was fine after that. But after ten minutes, Bucky was asking for more food. Steve gave him small pieces of bacon and even that didn't seem like enough so Steve gave him a cup of applesauce and a few goldfish crackers and that seemed to be enough.

But nonetheless his appetite was increasing and Steve wasn't sure to be happy or concerned.

"Good morning Avenger family, we would like to welcome you to Half Moon Cay. We hope you have as much fun as you did in Nassau. We ask that everyone be back on the boat by 6:30 p.m." A quick, simple announcement from the Captain. Steve put on his swim shorts then got Bucky dressed. But before they got off the boat, Steve sighed and held Bucky's metal hand.

"Bucky, can I talk to Winter?" Bucky frowned but the shift was instant. "Do you want to explore today?" Winter nodded. Steve nodded and they walked through the port. It was different but still a lot like Nassau. The water was still crystal clear and beautiful as ever. But there wasn't as many people.

"Goal?" Asked Winter. Steve mentally panicked for a second. When they did training with Winter on Wednesdays, he always had a goal and Steve wasn't sure what that was right now.

"Um, your current goal is to learn how to be gentle with the wildlife."

"Gentle with wildlife?" He questioned.

"Yes, that means interactions with them. If you don't want them to touch you, you can say no. Understand?"

"Goal: interact with local wildlife. Do not harm, only say no."

"Good. Let's start." They started walking through the island. It wasn't as big as Nassau but it had just as many tropical stores, restaurant and the houses were colored so brightly.

"Sir, when do we start the training?" Asked Winter.

"Soon. Be patient." They walked around a few attractions. A few people were playing their instruments on the side of the street to make a quick buck, Steve smiled at them. Apparently, they took that as a cue to follow them. Steve told them to stop, not only because it was extremely loud to their hearing but Winter couldn't really focus and it was triggering his aggression. 

Finally, they went away and Winter was able to relax a bit. They walked to the beach, surprised to see Sam, Nat, Rumlow and Tony at the beach.

"Hey, it's Cap and oh-" Sam stopped mid sentence when he saw Winter. "Hey Winter." Everyone turned to them. Nat immediately became tensed.

"What happened, why is he out?"

"Nothing, I asked him to come out. His therapist asked to include him so I figured why not. Plus it's kind of Winter's day anyway."

"Steve-"

"Nat, he's calm now and he has a goal in mind. He'll be calm as long as everyone is calm." Nat still didn't look sure about this but went with it and kept a very close eye on Winter.

"What are we doing?" Asked Steve.

"Waiting for dolphins." Said Tony.

"Oh good." Perfect animals to start with. Winter stared at every person that passed by, even going as far as growling when a young boy tried to pet Harley. Steve immediately snapped his fingers, correcting the behavior. The finger snapping was the best way to correct him without getting physical with him. Even Rumlow found that Winter was responding better than any beating he ever got from Hydra.

"Alright, it's our turn. Who's going to watch the horse?" Asked Tony.

"She can come in the water, I'm sure if pigs are allowed in the water, dogs can too." Said Steve. He took off her harness and let her swim around within eye sight. 

"Okay, these are bottlenose dolphins and they are very friendly." As the surfer began explaining the personality and unique characteristics of the dolphins, Steve watched Winter's eyes. No aggression, just wary. So far, so good.

"Would you like to pet the dolphins?" Asked a handler. This was the start of the gentle test. The dolphin came up to them. Everyone petted it. Winter was very hesitant, he doesn't pet animals. He doesn't even interact with them. Pierce made sure of that.

"Use your words."

"I am unsure of what to do."

"Lift your right hand and touch gently." Winter tried to comply, but this was completely out of his training. Steve lifted Winter's right hand and gently placed it over the dolphin. "Now lower your hand, gently." Winter slowly lowered his hand on the animal. The animal didn't move much.

"Acceptable?" Winter asked looking for approval.

"Very. I'm proud of you. Can you follow my motion?" Steve started to pet the dolphin. Winter stared for a minute then followed Steve's motion. "Good job, you did so well." Winter sort of smiled. He loved praise. The old handlers never did that. 

"Goal completed?"

"Not yet. Let's go to your next assignment." They got out of the water. Steve wrapped Winter in a towel and called Harley back to them. "Next, we're going to do spotting." Spotting was basically 'I spy'. Winter didn't hate spotting, but it wasn't as fun as sniping. 

They walked around a while then stopped at an outpost. It was a good place to see the entire island.

"Alright, just like at the tower. Winter, find a sunken ship." Winter looked around carefully then pointed to a sunken ship just north of where they were with the dolphins. "Excellent. Now find horses." Winter looked. He looked under the outpost then spotted a horse stable. They went a few more rounds. Winter found everything asked less than five minutes. "Good job, now find me an ice cream shop." He looked then pointed to an ice cream shop about a mile from the outpost. "You did really good. Do you want ice cream?"

"Yes sir."

"Winter, think about that; don't just answer a yes. Do you really ice cream?" Winter frowned then stared at Steve.

"I do really want ice cream." 

"Okay, let's go." Steve smiled at him and they traveled to the ice cream shop. New smells and new flavors never really made Winter happy. He couldn't focus on just one thing and it made him frustrated.

"Hello, what can we get you men today?" Asked a young lady.

"I'll try the mango berry ice cream. Winter what do you want?" Winter's eyes slightly widened. Another thing Winter struggled with. Choices. Too many things and he didn't know what he liked or wanted. Steve must have saw him struggle and there was a line forming behind them. "How about we try something? Let him try the strawberry-lemonade." The server gave them tiny spoons. Winter hesitantly put the tiny spoon in his mouth. Too much flavor, he couldn't take that.

In the back of his head, he could hear the baby asking him to get it. He didn't cold stuff in his mouth, but the baby liked it and he listened to him.

"Winter, do you want that flavor?"

"He wants that flavor." Steve was about to tell if that is what he really wanted, but the line was getting longer.

"Alright, I'll take a pint of mangoberry and a pint of strawberry-lemonade." The server made two pints and rung them out. They walked out the ice cream shop and sat outside on the benches. "Winter, look at me." 

Winter immediately complied.

"Is this what you wanted or is this what Bucky wanted?"

"He wanted it."

"Did you want it? Be honest."

"I did not like it being cold. He asked for this." Steve nodded in understanding. Of course, Bucky would want ice cream. But he would never thought Winter would have an aversion to cold stuff. He wasn't sure if it was a sensory issue or something Winter just didn't like. Either way, Bucky would be grateful later.

Steve finished most of his ice cream and Winter didn't even touch his, so he put the pints in the cold pack where he kept Harley's water cold. 

"Okay, you completed your first goal. Now I have another one. It's nothing serious, but I need to see what you think about this. Are you ready?"

"Yes sir." Winter immediately straightened his back.

"Do you see that stray dog over there?" Winter looked over to a little brown dog laying under a tree. It didn't look hurt or starving, just homeless.

"Yes sir."

"How does that dog make you feel knowing it's probably homeless?"

"That creature is fine."

"But what if it wasn't? What if it was starving or injured? What would you do?"

"Leave it." That was something Winter didn't have. Bucky's humanity. Bucky would have saved the dog in a heart beat and most likely keeping it. But Winter? Humanity wasn't not even considered in his programming. And Steve knew there wasn't much anybody could really do to train him to have humanity. Winter's aggression was only controllable because that was something they worked on constantly during training.

And Winter wouldn't save someone unless it was someone significant to his mission. Not life. Mission.

"What do you want to do now, Winter?"

"He is tired." Steve looked at his watch. Nearly twelve o'clock. Winter never needed naps, Winter never got tired.

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know."

"Let's go find something to do." They got up and walked around the city. There really wasn't much to do. They went in a few stores, Steve bought new shirts and a few pieces of jewelry. Then his phone buzzed.

'Come to the boat.' -Natasha. Steve sighed, he already knew what this was about. He packed everything in the bag and they walked to boat. 

Nobody was really on the boat, save for some crew members cleaning up. Steve texted Natasha asking where she was. She replied in the performance area. They went down to the performance area, she and Rumlow were here.

"Am I in trouble?" Asked Steve.

"Sort of. Sit." Said Nat. Steve sat down at a chair and Winter sat on the floor. He didn't have to, it was just in his programming.

"Look, if this is about Winter then get over it. He hasn't done anything wrong."

"Steve, I know. I've been following you."

"Of course you have."

"Just to make sure he is okay, you didn't tell us you would be bringing him out today."

"I was a little surprised when his therapist asked to bring him out. But she said he needed exposure. You know maybe Winter needed to feel something else other than cold weather."

"Why? So you can name him summer?" Asked Rumlow.

"No, just exposure. You had a good day so far, right?" Winter looked up him then sort of nodded. 

"He is very tired now." Said Winter.

"Meaning Bucky is about to throw a tired tantrum when he comes back."

"But seriously though, don't let him out until you tell us. I was worried." Said Nat.

"More like paranoid." Said Rumlow earning him a punch to the chest. 

"It won't happen again, I think Winter is done with the heat today."

"Alright, whenever Bucky is done with his nap you should let him see the stingrays. They're pretty cool." Said Nat.

"We'll check them out." Then Winter started to whine and fidget with his hands. Bucky was upset. The shift happened too quickly for even Steve to see. Bucky started to scream and kick at the chairs. Steve put him on his feet and held his arms.

"Why are you upset?"

"Sleepy."

"You do not have to pitch a fit over it. Okay? You're only making yourself more irritable." Bucky continued to cry and kick at Steve's chair. "Stop it."

"Steve, take him to bed." Said Nat. Steve tried to walk with him, but Bucky was biting and hitting him every step he took. Even when he asked to carry him, he bite Steve's wrist. So Steve had to restraint carry him to the whole way to room.

Once they got in, Bucky settled slightly. He was crying really hard still, but managed to change out of his swim clothes and Steve changed him.

Then in less than ten minutes, Bucky was asleep.

"I swear sometimes he fights himself more than he fights me." Said Steve to himself. Harley tilted her head. It had been a long day and the humidity was making it hotter than it what it felt. Maybe they did need a break. Steve sat down next to him and thought for a while.

Bucky must've been exhausted if he went over his usual two hour nap. Two hours nearly turned into five. For a while, Bucky was in and out of sleep before finally going back to sleep. Which was weird but Steve didn't raise any alarms.

When he finally did wake up, it was nearly five. And everyone had to be back by on board by 6:30. There wasn't much time to do anything, so they stayed on the top deck of the boat and waited for everyone to come back on.

"I don't regret it." Yelled Stark coming up the top deck.

"You will soon. I told you to put sunscreen on. Look at you." Said Pepper. Tony had a sunburn in the the form of a t-shirt. It looked painful.

"Still don't regret it. Hey, super sleepers, you missed something cool."

"It wasn't cool. It was borderline dangerous and you know it." Said Pepper pointing a finger.

"What happened?" Asked Steve.

"He jumped off a popular cliff that divers like to jump off and he nearly hurt himself."

"Thor did it, Clint did it, even Cooper did it and you're telling me it's dangerous." They argued back and forth for a while, eventually leaving the top deck. Then Sam came up.

"Nat said everything went great as far as Winter behaving?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, he did good. I'm proud of him."

"Good, how's Buckster?" Bucky was rocking himself a bit. Nothing had stressed him out, just self-regulating. 

"He's doing okay, I think he was just tired today. I think he's going through a change."

"Do explain."

"Well he's more hungry and he slept nearly five hours today. Wasn't sure if I should be concerned."

"Growing toddler, growing appetite. Nothing unusual. As for sleeping, sleep is good for the soul and the mind to reset. Winter was probably exhausting him today, so he needed a reset nap." As they talked and Bucky continued his rocking, everyone boarded the ship. 

After another hour, they started to leave the island. Steve didn't regret not doing most of what he expected to do. He would have been more upset if Winter didn't come out and enjoy some part of the trip. Any non combat talks with Winter was enjoyable because Steve could try to understand this other half of his best friend. He never knew Winter had an aversion to cold foods. Now he knew and he could avoid doing that again.

"Daddy, hungry."

"Okay, let's go get some food." They went to the dining area. Steve fixed a plate of steak for himself and plate of pasta for Bucky. They ate in comfortable silence for a while. Bucky stared at the sunset until it was dark. Then his attention went to the cakes on the dessert table.

"Please?" He pointed.

"You still have ice cream in the room." That got him excited. Steve asked the chef for a pint of milk so Bucky could take his pills. Once he got the milk, they quickly went in the room. Steve got out his ice cream and let him sit on the balcony. He didn't finish his ice cream but it wasn't causing a sugar rush. All was good.

As nightfall started to set in, Steve got Bucky into a bath and medicated. He took a hot shower then came out to Bucky nearly falling asleep on the floor. Steve sighed and carried him on the bed.

"I hope you had a good day today bud. I know you weren't really expecting me to bring him out." Bucky sleepy smiled at him.

"We, fun." Slowly Bucky went to sleep again.

"We've got to work on expanding your vocabulary." Steve rubbed his hair and sighed.

It really wasn't a bad day. Winter was pretty calm during the time he was out. Nobody got hurt and Winter didn't snap at someone. That was a win in Steve's book and also a step in the right direction. Maybe Winter really did like the island. He probably wouldn't know if he wanted to come back. But if he ever made that decision, Steve would be happy to comply.


	5. Thursday/ Freeport

This was it. Their last island before making their way back home. They were just docking and everyone was getting ready to leave. Everyone was excited, sort of. Bucky was, once again, not in the best of moods. It was one of those woke up like that moods, Steve didn't bother him until Bucky was obsessively chewing on his cruise band. When Steve asked him what was upsetting him so much, he kept responding home.

Bucky was becoming homesick. 

Steve didn't expect for him to be homesick on the trip. Bucky liked to go out when they at the tower, but Steve was starting to think he was missing what was familiar to him. Steve could only tell him to hold on for today and tomorrow then they'll be home. 

Their next destistantion was Freeport. Freeport was a bit different from Nassau and Half Moon Cay. Water was still the same but there was different things to do. There was jet skis on the water and surfers on high waves. It looked fun and Steve wanted to try the jet skis, but for now Bucky was clinging onto him. He cried most of the morning, so Steve brought him up to the top deck so he could calm down a little.

"Hey there you are." Said Sam coming upstairs.

"Where you looking for us?"

"Yeah, I'm either with Natasha or by myself. So I figured why not hang out with my favorite super soldiers."

"Thanks, but it's going to be a while." Sam sat down next to him and saw Bucky crying on Steve's chest.

"Oh, everything okay?"

"Home." Bucky whined.

"He's homesick." Said Steve.

"I'm sorry, kid. I know that sucks. But usually doing other things can take your mind off it."

"You think? He's literally been crying all morning." 

"Helped me when I went overseas. Come on, there's plenty to do."

"Want to try to do something, Buck?" Steve asked. Bucky frowned but nodded. They went down to their room and changed into more comfortable clothes. Steve wasn't sure if Bucky wanted to swim today, so he didn't put Bucky in his swim shorts. But packed them in his bag in case he wanted to.

They met Sam on the loading dock and they walked through the city. Still bright buildings, still tropical smells. Bucky was sort of getting tired of this.

"Mango?" Asked a street vendor. Bucky stared at him, what was a mango?

"Do you want to try? It's fruit." Asked Steve. Bucky nodded, he may be upset but he wasn't going to pass up trying new things. He tried a piece, it was very sweet. Too sweet for him. So he spit it out. "Is it too sweet?" Bucky nodded. He liked fruit, but that was too much.

"Try an orange." The street vendor gave him a piece of orange. Not too sweet but not dull. He liked that.

"Good." Bucky sort of smiled.

"I'm glad you like it, we'll take a pound." Steve bought a pound of oranges. He peeled one and fed Bucky a few pieces while they walked around. Sam talked about some new wings Stark was building him and new things he wanted to do with his life. When he asked Steve what he wanted to do, he responded 'I'll get back to you on that'.

Then there was a scream. The trio flinched then looked up. A zipline. 

"Oh that looks fun." Said Sam. It did look fun and Steve felt a spark to try then he felt Bucky shivering next to him. He was extremely nervous. Steve wouldn't even ask Bucky if he wanted to try. The amount of sensory issues that would flare up wouldn't allow him to get his feet off the ground. Not to mention, Bucky's confidence was also not the best sometimes and today it was defiantly at a low. 

"I won't make you try it." Bucky visible relaxed, but he was still tense because of the people screaming above him. So they walked until they found the beach. From what Steve could see, not a lot of the Avengers were here. But Thor was about to getting off the jet skis.

"Ah, the young one and his friends. I just had marvelous time on these tiny boats."

"Pretty sure you did. Where's Loki?" Asked Steve.

"My brother had a small seizure this morning and refused to leave the boat. But he has assured me he is doing well."

"Oh, sorry to hear that." Steve looked at Bucky, he was staring at the jet skis. Very unsure about it but not scared. "Do you want to try?" Bucky looked at him with wide eyes. "You'll be right behind me." Bucky still looked unsure but there was a slight nod. 

"Thor, do you mind watching Harley?" Asked Steve.

"I would not mind at all." Thor sat down by Harley, who didn't look very happy to be left. Sam and Steve went to the jet skis, Bucky was still very hesitant. Sam sat down at a red one and Steve sat on a yellow one. 

"Come sit behind me." Bucky slowly sat behind him. He was trembling again. "You're doing great. Now hang on. If you want to stop, just tap my chest." Bucky nodded and gripped his waist. Steve started off slowly then gradually increased speed. Steve couldn't tell if the jet ski was making him shake or if it was Bucky's trembling. Sam and Steve chased each other for about ten minutes then they went back to the shallow end to return them. When he tried to get up, Bucky wasn't letting him go. So he moved Bucky's arm to around his neck and carried him piggyback style back to the beach.

"Did you have fun?" Asked Thor.

"We did. I'm not sure about Bucky." Who was still trembling. "Did you have fun, Buck?" Steve wasn't expecting an answer but when he got a nod, he smiled. Bucky was just nervous and that was okay, he tried something new and he had fun. 

"Oh, I was to pass on the message that Stark wanted to have everyone down to a resort for a feast by sun down."

"Okay, I'm sure he'll send out a mass text before then." Said Steve.

"Why don't we sit down and talk for a while? Your young one is falling asleep." Said Thor. Bucky was falling asleep. It wasn't even twelve yet. But the more rest Bucky could get, the better he'll feel about the day. They sat down on the lounge chairs in the shade. Steve laid Bucky on his chest and relaxed.

"So Steve, are you excited?" Asked Sam.

"About?"

"Father's Day. You're first Father's day. Isn't that exciting?" Steve didn't even think about Father's day. Well, he did in term of celebrating his and Bucky's fathers. But being celebrated as a father never crossed his mind.

"But I'm not a father."

"The person on your chest would happily disagree." Said Sam gesturing to Bucky.

"I agree with Wilson. You have taken great care over the young one. You deserve to be celebrated on the day of fathers." Said Thor smiling widely.

"I did it because he wanted me to be that for him."

"And you accepted that role for him. After all that crap he went through with you know who, and that you know who never treated him right. You showed him love and getting him through healing. He loves you so much." Said Sam.

"Bucky would have done the same for me. I'm glad to be here for him."

"What are you doing for Father's day?" Asked Sam.

"Don't know."

"And plans for Mr. Rumlow?" Asked Thor.

"Excuse me?"

"You two do plan to go out and celebrate the day of fathers, right?"

"In our own way. I'm sure he'll do something for himself."

"You can't exclude him. Remember what he did for him." Said Sam.

"I wasn't going to, I was going to give him something. But in the back of my mind, I can't stop hating him for having a part in all of this."

"No one is expecting you to. I'm sure he hates himself for having a hand in it." Said Sam. Steve sighed, he really did hate Rumlow for having a part in it and that would never go away no matter what he did. He was grateful that Rumlow had enough heart to realize what Hydra was doing and brought Bucky to him. But still, he hated him. But Bucky didn't and that made him remember a conversation he had with Bucky's therapist. "Steve, you're thinking too much. What's happening?"

"His therapist mentioned something about Stockholm syndrome earlier this year and it just made me think."

"Woah seriously?" Asked Sam.

"Yeah, she only mentioned it the one time. But when she asked Bucky about his relationship with everyone, he responded he loved him because he saved him even though he hurt him. She told me it sounded like Stockholm syndrome."

"Does that bother you?" Asked Sam.

"It has been for a while, but I tried to forget about it because Bucky doesn't need anymore problems."

"Forgive me, what is this syndrome you talk of?" Asked Thor.

"Stockholm syndrome in simple words is when a victim develops a relationship with their abusers." Explained Sam.

"Bucky is a victim and Rumlow abused him." Said Steve.

"But Mr. Rumlow changed. He cares greatly for the young one. I do not believe Bucky has this syndrome." Said Thor.

"I don't either, Steve. It would be different if Rumlow was still abusing him. But even you can tell Rumlow genuinely cares about him." Said Sam. They were right. Rumlow did care about him a lot and tried spend time with him when he could. 

"Yeah, you're right." 

"Of course we are. Now enough serious talk, how about a drink?" Asked Sam.

"Um, sure, I just need to wake him up." Steve rubbed Bucky's back a little. Bucky stirred then looked up at him. "Hey, did you have a good nap?"

"Home."

"Still a little homesick. That's okay. Let's go have a drink." Bucky sat up then stretched. He looked around and noticed Thor but not his brother.

"'Oki?"

"On the ship, young one. He will be down shortly." Bucky sort of smiled. 

"What time are we supposed to be back on the boat?" Asked Steve.

"Seven." Said Sam. Steve looked at his watched. Only fifteen minutes until two. Then Sam and Steve's phone buzzed.

'Everyone meet here in twenty minutes for an Avenger dinner. Non-avengers are invited. Horses are invited.😆' - Stark.

"I really wish Stark would stop calling Harley a horse."

"Well she is really tall." Said Sam.

"Taller than a miniature horse, yes. But a horse like a Thoroughbred, no. He make it seem like Harley is the largest animal ever." Then Harley whined, clearly not pleased with the conversation. "You're perfect Harley." That earned a tail wag.

"Alright, let's start walking." They started to walk, except Bucky who sat on the sand and played with it.

"Buck, come on." Bucky shook his head and put sand in his mouth. Steve quickly went to him and tried to clean out his mouth. "Why?" Bucky shrugged.

"Toddlers." Laughed Sam. Steve sighed and held Bucky's hand. He really was a trouble maker. It didn't take them long to get to resort. Tony, Pepper, Clint and his family and Bruce was here.

"For once, you guys aren't the last ones to arrive. I'm proud of you." Said Tony.

"How's that sunburn, Stark?" Chuckled Sam.

"Midly painful, but I've been through worse." Said Tony smiling. Steve wasn't sure about that smile.

"I will be back friends, I must go retrieve my brother." Said Thor lightning teleporting away, scaring the citizens. Steve sat down then tried to sit Bucky down but he had other ideas. And Steve knew mischief eyes when he saw them. He didn't want to limit Bucky's wondering mind, but Steve didn't have time to search for Bucky during his antics. So he put on Bucky's harness and tied it to his chair. Now he was sure he wouldn't be going anywhere. 

Bucky stared at him then at his harness. He really didn't like this thing sometimes, it stopped him from doing fun stuff and he wanted to play in something. So he chewed on the chest strap. That wasn't easily breaking. So he chewed on the lead. 

"Stop." Whispered Steve. Bucky stared at him, eye to eye.

"Testing authority again?" Asked Rumlow suddenly next to him. Bucky immediately stopped and stared at him.

"No." Bucky said. Then went back to chewing on the lead. 

"The time out minutes are increasing." Bucky immediately froze and dropped the lead. "You are so mouthy today. What is going on?" Asked Steve. Bucky shook his head, Steve dug in his bag and got out his chewy. But he didn't want that, but he did spot fruit so he pointed. "Will that stop your madness?" Bucky nodded. Steve gave him a few orange slices and strawberry slices. Bucky immediately ate them. "You worry me sometimes. Truly." 

After a few minutes, everyone showed up and started the feast. Bucky got salmon slices over rice. Steve got tilipa over fruit. Everyone was peacefully eating then Stark stood up and tapped his glass with a knife.

"Alright, people listen because once I start drinking I won't know what I'm saying. I'm glad you guys are here, well most of you. This was quite an amazing trip and I wish I could extend it but crap is happening and I miss my suits. But I'm just saying it's nice to have all of you here." 

"Aw, Tony, you do have a heart." Said Pepper.

"Yeah, whatever. Either way, next year we're going somewhere overseas. But not by boat, flying. Is the baby okay with flying?"

"I have no idea if he's even been on a plane." Steve looked at Rumlow.

"He was always kept sedated or you know completely under." Steve sighed. Of course, Hydra would keep Bucky frozen.

"Anyway, just make sure you know how to handle him when the time comes. So tomorrow will be our last day on the boat and there will be a game night just for adults. So find accommodations for your children." He pointed to Clint, Laura and Steve.

"Uh, I'm not going." Said Steve.

"Yes you are." Practically everyone said.

"Who's going to watch him?"

"I will." Said Loki. Steve's head snapped to him. 

"Absolutely not. You two are a walking disaster together."

"Do you have any other option?" At that point Steve was willing to pay any of the workers to watch Bucky. But they made it clear that they were not babysitting. 

"I will think about it." This will most likely keep Steve up during the whole night. God of Mischief watching the most mischievous child on the boat had Steve's head spinning. 

"But still thanks for coming and making this somewhat enjoyable." Said Tony sitting down and drinking. Everyone talked for a while then dessert was served. Steve gave Bucky a few pieces of fruit and a few scoops of ice cream. 

He was going through it very quickly.

"Was it good?" Asked Steve. Bucky was drooling ice cream then he signed more. "No more." Bucky tilted his head then searched everyone plates. Everyone had cake. Some of that he couldn't have then something yellow was waved in his face.

"Try that." Bucky smelled it. Oddly familiar, he just didn't know what it was.

"Is?"

"Pineapple." Bucky put one in his mouth, it was familiar and it had been too sweet at the time. But now it was tolerable. Steve mentally patted himself on the back.

Once everyone finished their meals, they made their way back to the boat. Bucky's energy was at an all time high for some reason and if he wasn't tired out, he became destructive. Sam didn't want to wrestle him and Rumlow got slightly drunk, so that was a no. 

Once they got on the boat and everyone was in their rooms. Bucky was already starting his destruction by hitting on the walls. Steve held his hands, Bucky hit his shoulder and laughed.

"You are just asking for a fight." Said Steve. Bucky laughed and grabbed Steve's shirt. "Alright, if you become too rough, we're stopping."

Bucky grabbed his shirt and tried to pin Steve down. But Bucky realized that this wasn't Sam or Rumlow, who were a lot less stronger than him. And he never lost to them. 

Steve was stronger than him and quickly flipped him on his back. He didn't like it.

"No. No." Steve immediately stopped and let him up.

"Everything okay?" Bucky looked at him then pounced on him. And he pinned Steve on the floor.

"Alright. Alright, you win. Stop."

"No."

"Bucky, let me up." Bucky shook his head. So Steve kneed him gently in the stomach. Bucky whined and got up.

"Sorry, but you have to listen I say stop." Steve helped him up then Bucky yawned. Finally, he was getting tired.

"Alright, we are going to the dining area to get milk then we'll let Harley use the bathroom then bath, medication, then bed time." Bucky shrugged again. "Where did you learn all this shrugging?" Bucky shrugged again. Steve smiled at him then they left the room. Steve asked for a pint of milk from the chef. Once they got their milk, they went to the lower levels and let Harley do her business. They went back to their room and Steve got Bucky in a bath, a messy bath with half of the water ending up on the floor from Bucky playing too much. 

Once he got him out of the tub and made sure Harley was fed, Steve got him to take his medication and comfortable in bed.

"Actually, do you want say goodbye?"

"Bye?" Steve opened the balcony door and carried Bucky outside. They were just leaving the dock and they were on their way home now.

"Going?"

"Home. Do you want to say bye to the islands?"

"Bye-bye." Bucky sort of waved. He was becoming extremely sleepy. 

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself on the islands. This was really fun, sometimes I wish you were really here. But I still love you, Buck." Then Bucky looked up at him, he scratched his head and sighed.

"We love you, Stevie." Bucky fell asleep. Steve kissed his head then carried him inside and laid him on the bed. Steve skipped the shower again and laid in bed. 

Tomorrow was their final day and Steve could happily admit that he enjoyed the islands. And would probably like to come back without the Avengers, but the world needs Captain America. Bucky needs Steve Rogers. It was hard to separate the two sometimes. He never told anybody but he was sure Natasha knew but he brought his shield just in case anything happened.

Being Captain America has made him paranoid, but being here made some of that paranoia go away. He finally felt relaxed.

Until he remembered Loki watching Bucky tomorrow.

But he wasn't going to let that stress him out tonight. Maybe tomorrow, but not tonight.


	6. Friday/ Day At Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final day of the cruise ends with a bang from our mischievous duo.

They were on their way home. Finally going back home. Some of the Avengers weren't happy to go back home. Others preferred to be back home. Mainly Bucky, Steve was close to being homesick. Not a lot just a little. He missed his bed, this one was too soft and he wanted a home cooked meal.

Bucky just wanted to be home. He loved the trip and Steve knew he did despite the many request to go home. 

Harley probably liked the trip also, but she needed a bath. The wet dog smell was lingering.

"Want. Want, please?" Asked Bucky pointing to the ice cream cone that Lila had.

"You're swimming, you can't eat while you're swimming." It was already past two. Bucky fought nap time with everything he had. So there was no nap today, but Steve was sure he would crash tonight. 

"Please?" Bucky got out of the pool and was about to go to Lila but Steve got his hand. 

"You are not going to take that from her. If you get ice cream, you are to wait an hour until you can swim again. Fair?" Bucky nodded. Steve wrapped him in a towel and went to the dining area. Bucky chose strawberry ice cream but before Steve could put it in a bowl, Bucky pointed to the cones. "You can't have that, you won't understand it and it's too hard."

"Please?" Bucky begged. Steve sighed and thought. If he put the ice cream in the cone, no doubt it would cause a bigger mess than without the cone. But he wanted to try and Bucky was killing him with blue begging eyes. Then he had an idea.

What if he crushed the cone into smaller pieces and still left the ice cream in the bowl? Maybe that will prevent a mess and help Bucky understand a cone in a different way.

So he did just that. He left a few large pieces for Bucky to try to chew on and added a sprinkles because why not? Steve got himself a bowl of jello and they went up to the top deck again.

Bucky sat down on a lounge chair and ate his ice cream then he noticed the cone chunks. He ate one and was confused. He never chewed ice cream but the chunks confused him. So he chewed on the piece in his mouth. It was weird. So very weird, but also very good. So he kept eating.

Steve smiled when he realized Bucky sort of figured out the cone. Maybe Bucky really was on the road to a more solid diet.

Then Steve noticed Bucky's hair was getting in his ice cream which was ending up on his mouth. So Steve asked Natasha put Bucky's hair in a pony tail or something just to keep it out of his food. She put his hair in a half bun, exposing his sharp jawline.

After Bucky finished his ice cream and waited a few minutes to digest then he noticed something jumping out of the water. Then another. And another. Bucky stood up and looked over board.

Nothing for a minute. Then something jumped.

"What are you staring at, Buck?" Asked Steve. Then he saw what Bucky was staring at. Dolphins jumping out of the water.

"Oh, that's really cool." A family of dolphins jumping out the water. Seeing them in their natural environment was more satisfying than seeing them up close.

"Play?"

"They're playing with each other. You do not play with them." Bucky sat down and watched the dolphins jump out the water. It was really cool, why didn't they do this when they were at the beach?

After a few minutes, the dolphins left and Bucky was inching towards exhaustion. But first he had to swim to with papa. It wasn't really swimming, more like pressure seeking. Steve left to use the bathroom and at that moment Bucky felt off. He went to Rumlow and hugged him tightly. Rumlow wasn't exactly sure what was going with Bucky until Steve came back and explained to him that Bucky needed pressure and if he wasn't near his blanket, he tried to make someone give it to him. Usually it only lasted a few minutes if Bucky was having a good day.

It turned into thirty minutes of pressure seeking then slowly falling asleep. Steve took him from Rumlow and carried him into the bedroom. Steve changed him into casual comfortable clothes and laid him on the bed with his weighted blanket. Then a knock.

Steve quietly got off the bed and opened the door slowly. Loki.

"What are you doing here?"

"May I speak to the little one?"

"He's taking a nap right now, what do you want?"

"I wanted to talk to him about tonight, see what he wanted to do."

"Why don't you just ask me?"

"Because you don't even want me to watch him."

"That's true, but since I have no choice. I have to leave him with you. Just know if you do anything to him, I will kill you."

"I do not plan to harm him. What does he like to do on this thing?"

"He loves to swim. But don't let him swim all night. He can have one sweet. Mainly ice cream. Do not give him cake or anything solid, he doesn't understand how to chew properly and I don't think you want to deal with him choking."

"I do not."

"So just keep him limited to what's in his bag. If you want to stay with him in the room, that's fine. He'll watch a movie."

"Can we walk around the boat?"

"Um, sure. If you think that will tire him out." Loki slightly grinned. Steve saw that grin and every protective parental instinct he had was telling him to forget about game night and stay with Bucky. But if he stayed, no doubt one of the Avengers would literally try to drag him out of bed and get him in the performance area. It was a no win situation for Steve. So Steve was going to have trust Loki to watch Bucky for a few hours.

"You shouldn't worry so much about me watching him."

"Loki, please don't make me list out the number of reasons why I don't trust you. You and Bucky are just trouble together and there's so much around here that I'm afraid you'll find a way to sink the ship."

"I assure you that is not my intention."

"But can I get you to promise to that if something happens to Bucky you will immediately come find us?"

"Yes you have my word." Steve looked in the room and saw Bucky was stirring a bit and Harley was whining a bit.

"I have to go. I will talk to you tonight." Steve went back in the room and checked on Bucky. Turns out the stirring was a seizure. Steve got his Lamby and rubbed his back. After a minute, Bucky relaxed and chewed on his metal fingers.

"Buck, you okay?" Bucky wasn't responding to him. Harley got her nose under his blanket and licked his flesh fingers. Steve waited, this was the scary part of his post-seizures. He never knew who was going to surface, Winter or Bucky. Then he sighed and blinked. "Bucky, you with me?" Bucky turned to him and stared. Steve deeply hoped Winter wouldn't appear.

"Daddy?"

"Hey, you okay pal? You had a seizure."

"Yeah." Bucky was about to rub his eyes but Steve grabbed his hands. 

"Sorry, Harley licked your fingers and I don't want you touch your eyes with them. I'll go wet a small towel. Don't touch your eyes." Steve got up and wet a hand towel. He wiped Bucky's hands and face. Bucky lifted his flesh hand and rubbed his eyes. "Are you still sleepy?"

"No sleepy." Bucky said ending with a yawn. Steve smiled and laid him back down. He wasn't tired but he wasn't ready to get up yet. Steve got his tablet and put on a movie until he felt well enough to move again. For now, Steve did a little research.

After thirty minutes of intense research and Bucky getting his strength back, things were back to normal. It was a little past 4 in the afternoon and Steve didn't want to waste any of the day away, so they went up to the top deck and tried to find a game to play. There was a bean bag toss, but Bucky's aim would probably be too good for that game. There was golf, but Clint and his kids were already playing. There wasn't much to do that wouldn't bring out Winter's skills. Then he spotted a table. He went over and saw it was an art and craft table.

"Hello, would you like to make something?" Asked a young lady. Bucky tilted his head and Steve said yes. Steve sat him down. The woman set down a few clear molds. A bunny, a dolphin, an elephant, and a lion. "We are going to make layered sand molds."

"Oh, fun."

"Pick out a mold." She said. Steve got the dolphin and Bucky chose the bunny. "Alright, pick a color." She layed out colored sand. Steve was now very interested, Bucky was confused. His kinetic sand was brown and the sand on the beach was brown. So why this sand different colors? Steve picked out a blue first and followed the lady as she filled her mold with sand. Bucky's confusion was growing by the second, what were they doing? 

"Do you need help?" Steve asked. Bucky nodded. "Okay, pick a color." Bucky looked at the colors and settled on green. "Now scoop some in the shovel." Bucky scooped some very carefully. "Now pour it slowly in here." Bucky did and he tried to be careful but some spilled on the table and on his clothes causing him to whine. "It's okay if you make a mess. Just don't eat it." Steve helped him pour in two more colors until he got the hang of it. After about fifteen minutes, Steve finished his dolphin mold. It was very colorful and was actually more relaxing than he thought it would be. Bucky, on the other hand, was still working on his. He would stop and feel the sand for a few minutes then continued with his art. He finished his bunny twenty minutes after Steve and was quite proud of himself. 

"Bunny."

"Yeah. Listen, do not open these. These stay close until I say so. Understand?" Bucky nodded. Steve hoped that would stick with him until the end of the trip so when they got back home he could put it on a shelf that Bucky doesn't pay much attention to. Otherwise, well, he didn't want to think about the mess. The worker suggested sealing the tops with hot glue if Bucky was destructive. That one suggestion lifted a lot of worry off of Steve's shoulder. Bucky probably still get it off if he really tried, but Bucky wouldn't do that. They thanked the lady and went down to their room to put the molds away. 

Then Bucky smiled at him.

"Why are you smiling?" Bucky laughed and fidgeted with his hands. Steve smiled but was a little concerned at the sudden behavior change. Once they left the room, Bucky ran away from him. Steve was frozen for a second then chased after him with Harley close behind. Bucky got pretty far from him and even down a lower level before Steve grabbed his shirt and held his arms. Bucky was still laughing. "Why did you run from me?"

"Funny."

"Buck, look at that sign, what does that say?" Bucky looked at the sign. He barely knew half of the words. But he could read no and run.

"No run."

"That's right. Now I understand you get little burst of energy but please don't run down here." Not only was Steve worried Bucky might actually hurt himself running down the stairs, but the fear of him body slamming someone because they were in his way was also very concerning because Bucky could really hurt someone like that. "I won't put you in time out. Just don't run down here." Bucky laughed again and tried to get out his grasp but he wasn't letting go. "Right now, I really wished they had a play ground or something." Bucky wasn't going on water slides because of sensory issues and swimming didn't drain his energy so there really wasn't much that could tire him out.

"Play, please?" Bucky asked but Steve shook his head. Bucky frowned then tried to bite Steve.

"Do you want a time out?"

"No."

"Then stop biting. I'll find something for you to do." Bucky laughed again. Steve held his hands and went back upstairs. Bucky kept pulling away from him to run away from him, but Steve wasn't budging and if Bucky was putting any real force behind it; he would have pulled Steve's arm from the socket. But he was being as gentle as he could be and still being forceful. They went back on the top deck, Steve spotted Sam and Rumlow.

"Hey do you guys want to wrestle him?" Asked Steve.

"Say what?" Asked Sam lifting his sunglasses.

"Please wrestle him." Steve begged.

"Why don't you wrestle him, you're just as strong as him?" Asked Rumlow.

"Because he plays dirty and he doesn't listen sometimes."

"And what makes you think he listens to us?" Asked Sam. Steve sighed and adjusted his grip on Bucky so his feet wasn't on the ground. "He causing trouble?"

"More like sudden burst of energy. He ran from me."

"Seriously?" Smiled Rumlow.

"He ran down the hallway and got on the floor below. Had to grab him before he body slammed into someone."

"Oh, that's hilarious but also not. Didn't know he still got those." Sam said.

"I didn't either but he's always had his swing at home so he could tire himself out. But he's been fighting me to run loose and I think if set him down he'll run and hurt himself or someone."

"Probably will. High energy toddlers are dangerous. They're like little demons." Said Sam.

"How do you know that?" Asked Rumlow.

"There's a tv show that shows little kids like completely out of control and a woman comes in and tries to handle them. It's pretty fun. Sometimes I see that in Bucky and your boy just needs to get it out."

"How? Nobody will play with him."

"Steve, you answer is lying with that great dane." Said Sam pointing to Harley.

"Seriously?"

"That is one of the reasons why Ms. Olivia assigned him that breed. Active but not too active. If anyone can cool that high energy fireball you got, it's her." Steve looked at Harley. Would she be able to tire Bucky out just enough to settle him? Time to find out. Steve thanked them then went to their room. He set Bucky down on the bed, who then immediately got back up and tried to open the main door. 

Stupid child locks.

"Buck, come here." Bucky walked to the other side of the room and sat down. "Okay, I want you to play with Harley. So you two can play tug-o-war, be gentle." Steve got Harley interested in her rope and got her to tug on it. "Hold this part and don't let go until she does." Steve gave him the other end and they began pulling against each other. Bucky laughed and played with her.

Steve sighed in relief and sent a massive thank you text to Sam.

After an hour, Bucky was calmer and Harley was exhausted. Steve was able to release more of the energy by lightly wrestling him. But now it was getting close to eight. The adult games would start at nine. Till then Steve had to least get Bucky bathed, but then he thought. He didn't trust Loki to give Bucky his medication. He knew if he texted Bruce about giving his medication at a different time would affect him, he probably would say yes. So Steve texted Tony and told him he would be a little late to the games. 

Tony replied '-😐'

Closer to nine o'clock, Steve took Harley down to use the bathroom and got a pint of milk from the chef. Steve got Bucky in a bath and to take his medication. He fed Harley then waited on Loki. Steve already thought ahead and brought Bucky's medication with him, they needed no repeats on the boat. When he stepped outside, Loki was standing at the door.

"Are you about to go?"

"Yes, he's already medicated and bathed. The medication usually takes about thirty minutes to an hour to start making him sleepy, so please don't overwork him." Loki nodded. Steve let him in and went to Bucky, who was on his tablet. "Hey, I'm going to spend time with the others so Loki is going to stay with you until I get back." Bucky looked up and smiled at Loki. "Behave. And listen, I'm going to keep the locks off on the front door so if you feel uncomfortable around Loki, you can leave and find someone." Steve whispered that to him. Bucky nodded and yawned.

"I want him in bed before his exhaustion becomes too much, Loki."

"I understand." Steve slightly frowned at him. He kissed Bucky's head, giving Loki a glare then left.

"Okay, we haven't done anything fun in a while. I've been bored on this thing and you haven't done anything really entertaining have you? You've just been doing whatever your father wants you too." That was partially true. He was having fun but he wanted to do more. 

"Play?"

"Of course we can little one. But first, where does your father keep your medication?" Bucky shrugged. Loki slightly frowned then sighed.

"Never mind it was a silly question. Let's start our game." They left the room and went down to the laundry area. Loki pulled out a red sock from his pocket. He put the red sock in the washer with the white table clothes.

"I've heard leaving a different color clothing garment will change the appearance of white colored garments. We shall see how this turns out." Even Bucky was sort of interested on how this will turn out. Loki brought them into the dining area and sat at a table.

"Your father says you are allowed ice cream before bed, do you want something more?" 

Bucky nodded. "Cake." Loki nodded and looked at the chef going in and out of their cooking area. Then he had an idea.

"You used to be a spy, right?" Bucky shrugged. "Follow me." Loki ducked down, which made Bucky down. Harley whined and tilted her head. They went in the chef cooking area and looked around, not many people here. Then Bucky smelled something. Cake. He went in front of Loki and found cake batter, a full pan of it. "Take it." Whispered Loki. Bucky took the pan and they walked out the cooking area. They went down to the lower levels where there was a bar, nobody was here. They sat down on a sofa and looked out the window while Bucky ate his cake batter.

"I must admit, despite what the others think, I did enjoy this adventure."

"Fun?"

"Yes. It was fun to just get away from my brother for a while. Did you have fun?" Bucky nodded then yawned. "I suppose I must-" Loki froze. Harley whined and put her head on his lap. Loki struggled to stand up then kneeled on the ground before collasping. Bucky stared at Loki then he started to convulse. Harley laid her body over his legs, Bucky looked around, nobody was around. Then Loki stopped seizing. He was breathing hard and still shaking a bit. Bucky abandonded his cake batter and laid his head on Loki's chest. Loki slowly stopped shaking and his breathing was starting to even out. But he wasn't waking up. 

Bucky was exhausted. The pills were fully set in now and he could barely keep his eyes open, but Loki needed him. So he forced himself to stay awake.

"Bucky?" Bucky looked up and saw the maid lady who came to their room. "Oh dear, are you okay, is he okay?" She nearly touched Loki, but Bucky growled at her. She backed up then thought a little. "Do you want me to go get your daddy?" Bucky nodded. She nodded and left quickly. Bucky kept an eye on Loki, he was extremely tired but he would not sleep yet.

On the other side of the ship, the Avenger were playing poker. Steve wasn't doing bad but he didn't really understand all the rules of the game. And he was kind of glad it was adult night, Tony cursed out Sam twice. And Clint nearly rage quiet three times. None of the children needed to hear that. Then a tap on his shoulder.

"Mr. Rogers, I'm sorry to interrupt but I think Bucky is in trouble." She whispered.

His heart nearly stopped "What happened?"

"I'm not sure, I went down to the bar area and I found him and another man with black hair laying on the floor." Loki.

"Okay, just one moment." Steve got up and whispered to Thor to come with him. Once they got out of earshot of the Avengers. Catherine led them down to bar area and they saw Bucky and Loki.

"LOKI!" Yelled Thor. Bucky snapped awake then growled at him.

"Bucky, it's okay, it's us." Steve picked him up and held him. Thor tended to Loki and got him to wake up. Loki would be okay with some rest. "Why do you smell like cake?" Steve touched Bucky's chin, he was sticky. 

"It may be this. Our bakers noticed a pan was missing." Catherine said holding up an almost empty pan of batter.

"Cake batter, really? I told you to behave." Bucky shrugged.

"Would he also happen to know to why our table cloths are now red?" Asked Catherine holding up a red table napkin that was once pearly white. "I found a red sock in there."

Steve gasped. "Did you do that?" Bucky shook his head. He didn't put the sock in there but would he get in trouble from just watching?

"Do not blame him Captain, this was Loki's doing. He was asking me earlier why this ship only had white table cloths. Then I spotted him searching how to change the color and he found that putting a brightly colored sock in white clothings will make them change colors. I will deal with my brother accordingly."

"Okay, you still aren't free from punishment, Buck." Bucky sighed and held onto Steve. He was really tired now. Steve brought him back to their room and wiped Bucky's mouth and brushed his teeth. Once he got Bucky in bed, he sighed.

"You and Loki have the strangest relationship. I'm still not sure what you see in that guy. But if he makes you happy, then I'll support your friendship. Just don't listen to everything he says or do everything he does." Bucky smiled then fell asleep. "When you wake up tomorrow we'll be back home. I'm sure you will be so excited to be near something familiar again." Steve changed into his pajamas and laid down with Bucky.

Despite his and probably Thor's best efforts, the God of Mischief and the most mischievous child on the boat ended their trip with a prank that probably upset a lot of the workers. But they made their mark and really earned their title as most mischievous pair on the boat. "You two scare me when you're together." 

Even with all that going on, Steve was glad Bucky and Loki were okay. And that Bucky wasn't feeling sick from eating batter.

But most of all, he was glad they were going home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter and it probably will be short because I need to have a break then start on the Father's day special.


	7. Saturday/Going Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers are going home.

Steve could tell they were getting close to the port when he saw the amount of cargo boats passing by. It felt nice to know that they were in back in U.S territory. Not that he didn't like the Bahamas. He loved it and wished to come back one day, but he was ready to be home. 

Steve was the first one up mainly because it was early. As in 3 in the morning early. Bucky was completely out and would probably be a majority of the morning. So Steve went ahead and packed everything back in their bags and suitcases. He put their dirty clothes in a trash bag, made sure all of their items were accounted for and charged Bucky's tablet.

He also already made sure Harley didn't have any fleas or ticks. She had a flea and tick medication she was given a few weeks before the trip, but Steve just ran his hand through her coat to just make sure. And she will be given a thorough bath once they got home.

They probably would be at the docks no later than nine and everyone would be up and moving around before than. Thor and Loki would leave as soon as they stepped foot on the docks and said bye to everyone. Clint and his family would be leaving quickly to avoid traffic. Steve would say he would miss them if he was normal, but he wasn't and they weren't normal. This was a simply see you until the next mission.

Steve sighed. He did everything he could to make sure he had everything packed and ready to go. Now he was bored.

After an hour of trying to figure out what to do, Steve concluded that there really wasn't anything he could do expect wait for Bucky to wake up. He read a few books on his phone then watched the sun rise from the balcony. It was quiet for a while until he heard heavy breathing and yawning.

"Daddy?"

"Out here." Bucky came out the room with Harley using her weight to keep him standing. Bucky was in a sleep haze. Not quite awake but not sleep. "Hey, good morning. I was expecting you to be asleep longer."

"Bad." He pointed to his head.

"Bad dream?" Bucky nodded. "Oh, I'm sorry, come here." Bucky laid his lap and put his thumb in his mouth. Now Steve knew it was something that bothered him to make him go to old habits. "Can we talk about it?"

"Daddy, doggy dead." Oh, that was bad. If Bucky ever dreamt about death, Winter was remembering something and it was feeding off onto Bucky's dreams. Nothing could be done about stopping Winter's memories from creeping into Bucky's dreams. But Steve was hopeful if Winter saw more happy things like the trip, it wouldn't be as bad.

"Harley and I are not going anywhere. We are still here and will always be with you. Okay?" Bucky nodded. Steve kissed his head and rubbed his back. Then Bucky noticed the boats everywhere.

"Going?"

"Home." Bucky somewhat smiled. Steve knew he would. "I don't suppose I can get you to take a short nap, do I?" Bucky shook his head. No more sleep for a while and that was okay. Steve was fine with his little family sitting on the balcony watching the sunrise. This was sort of his dream life. Maybe under different circumstances, but this was okay and he was enjoying every single second of it.

Two more peaceful hours later, Steve had to get Bucky up off of him because his legs were going numb. Bucky didn't like it but his stomach was starting to talk to him. Steve wasn't sure about letting Bucky eat before they docked was a good idea mainly because any stress on Bucky's stomach made everything come back up. On the other hand, once Bucky realized he was hungry it was the start of a downward spiral if he wasn't fed quickly. First, he would ask politely constantly. Then he got cranky and chewed on whatever he could to get his message across that he was hungry. From there, he entered a near meltdown state. Steve has never let him get to the last stage but he could give a good guess that Bucky would go that far if no one fed him. 

"Okay, you are going to eat a light breakfast. And if you're hungry when we get home, I'll fix what you want. Okay?"

"Kay." They went in the room, Steve changed him and put him in his plaid flannel pants and a wife beater. They walked up to the dining area and looked at the options, most of the crew was out. Some chefs sort of side-eyed Bucky and they were met with a glare from Steve. They were still upset from the red sock turning their table cloths and napkins red which was reasonable, but they weren't going to make Bucky feel uncomfortable.

Steve fixed Bucky a bowl of fruit and got a cup of yogurt. He got himself a croissant and a granola bar. 

"Want to eat up on the top deck one last time?" Asked Steve. Bucky nodded and they went upstairs to the top deck. Not surprising, Natasha was already awake and looking at the sea.

"Mommy." Bucky smiled. She turned around and smiled back at him.

"Hey, sweet boy. I probably would have guessed you would have been up this early. Did Steve's stress packing wake you up again?"

"I wasn't stress packing, I was just making sure everything was accounted for. He woke up from a bad dream." Said Steve. Bucky sat down on the floor and ate his fruit. "Are you excited to go back home?" Steve asked.

"Honestly, yes." 

"Why was I expecting a no?"

"I'm ready to get working again. I won't be staying long once we get back to the tower." She never did stay long anyway.

"I understand." They talked for a while. Bucky was content and feeding Harley some apple slices because he was entertained by the chewing sound she made. Steve had a firm talk about the stuff he was allowed to give Harley, certain fruits and vegetables were okay. But the only fruits Bucky shared with Harley was blueberries and apples. Vegetables were touchy subject. Bucky rarely ate vegetables in the first place, so there was no harm there.

After they talked about serious stuff and other non-serious stuff, the United States started to come into view. They started passing through ports and more cruise ships, they were definitely home.

"I believe this is Staten Island." Said Steve.

"Yeah and there's our Statue of Liberty." Standing in all of her glory and freedom. Steve loved that statue for so many reasons. "For some reason, I'm surprised we can't see Stark's tower from here yet."

"Remember what you said about it?" Nat smiled.

"That big ugly building and now we're living in it. Why does that feel like karma?"

"Not karma. It was bound to happen and Tony said he wanted you to live there but figured you were still getting used to the 21st century and all his amazing technology would give you a super soldier heart attack."

"I'm not even used to all of it now and he's always making upgrades to something. I wished he would just slow down and think about what he's doing."

"Tony doesn't slow down. He stops until exhaustion or death is upon him, he just wants to be better than his father."

"Don't tell him I said this, but he kind of is."

"Secret is safe with me." Nat smiled at him then looked down at where Bucky was supposed to be. "Steve, look down." Steve raised an eyebrow then looked down at where Bucky was. He was gone. Steve's heart jumped in his throat and he looked around until he heard laughing. He looked at pool and saw Bucky and Harley swimming.

"Oh no." Steve went to them and pulled them out. "You do know that one, you do not have any swim clothes on and two Harley is not allowed to swim in the pool." Bucky laughed and shook his head, getting Steve wet. "You are such a troublemaker. What am I going to do with you?" Bucky shrugged. 

"Go change him before he gets sick, this water is cold." Said Nat. Steve nodded and carried Bucky towards their room. Steve apologized many times to the staff when they saw Bucky and Harley soaking wet and making their just cleaned floors wet again. Once they got in the bedroom, Steve put them in the bathroom and immediately dried them off. 

"Harley, now you really smell like wet dog. You will be getting a bath and you will be getting a time out." Both Harley and Bucky whined. Harley wasn't a fan of baths, loved swimming, she just hated baths. Once Steve had them both dry, he got Bucky into his casual clothes and watching a movie on his tablet outside on the balcony. Then Steve saw something that made him smile.

Brooklyn Bridge. 

They were almost home, probably less than an hour away.

"Bridge. Bridge. Bridge." Bucky pointed.

"Yeah, that's Brooklyn Bridge. Do you know what that means?" Bucky tilted his head. "We're almost home." Bucky smiled and chewed on his chewy necklace. Steve smiled, finally he could start to see somethings that looked familiar.

Two minutes later, a knock.

"Come inside for a minute, Buck." Bucky came inside and sat on the bed. Steve answered the door to Catherine. 

"Good morning, how are you today?" She greeted.

"We are good." Said Steve.

"Good, I just wanted to come by to say thank you for an amazing trip even with all the mess. This was one of the funniest trips I have had the pleasure to serve."

"Thank you so much, especially about yesterday."

"Speaking of, may I give you all a gift?"

"Yes, of course." She walked around the bed and sat in front of Bucky. 

"I don't know if these were your favorite animal from the trip, but I saw that you had a whale shark stuffed animal and I thought this guy would make a nice addition." She handed him a dolphin plushie. Bucky smiled and took it from her. "You can push right there and it lights up." Bucky pushed the button and the dolphin light up, that made him ecstatic.

"What do you say, Bucky?"

"Thank you."

"You are welcome. For Harley, I got you flowers that can be attached to your collar." She put a blue flower on her collar. She loved it and licked her hand. "You're welcome, pretty girl. And Steve for you I have a few candles and calming bath salts." Steve smelled the candles and they really smelled like the ocean and the Epsom bath salts smelled a little like the ocean too.

"Oh this is great. I will be using these." Said Steve. He looked at Bucky who was obsessed with his new dolphin. "I will be using these when he is asleep. Thank you so much for everything." 

"No problem, would you like me to take off your band Bucky?" Bucky nodded and held out his arm. Catherine undid the band then noticed the bite marks but didn't say anything, she got up; petted Harley then said goodbye and left. Steve put the candles and salts in his bag then looked at Bucky who seemed to be introducing the dolphin to his other animals.

"Does it have a name yet?" Bucky shook his head, he wasn't the best with name calling. "How about Bubbles?" 

Bucky smiled "Bubbles. Bubbles." Now Bucky had five stuffed animals with names. And Steve was sure that as Bucky grew he would get more.

"Good morning, Avengers. We have some good news and bad news. The good news is we are in Manhattan and will be opening the doors in ten minutes. The bad news we won't miss some of you. But I must say that this was a wonderful adventure and we hope to see some of you again. Now I will happily give back the title of Captain to the real Captain." Announced the Captain. Steve smiled and shook his head. 

"Hey, I want you leave out one animal and your tablet. We're about to get off the boat." Despite the amount of love Bucky was giving Bubbles, he put the animal in his bag and got out Lamby. Always his favorite, always his support. 

Steve packed up Harley items and folded her bed. Steve put on his book bag and made sure absolutely everything that came on with them was coming off with them. Once he was sure, he put Harley's vest on and put Bucky's harness on just in case he spooked.

"Say bye."

"Bye-bye." Bucky said to the room. They left out of the room and went down to the loading/unloading area. The doors were already open and dock ramp was ready. Sam, Rumlow and Natasha was already outside saying goodbye to Clint and his family. But just like getting on, Bucky was unsure about his footing.

"You are okay. Just like the other time you got off. One step at a time." Bucky stared at him then slowly stepped off the ramp. Finally on solid land, on American land. 

"Steve and Bucky, it was fun while it lasted." Said Clint.

"Yeah, it really was. Give Clint a hug." Bucky hugged Clint then hugged Laura. Cooper and Lila waved bye to him and he waved bye back. Then they left. Thor and Loki came off next.

"Aw, back to being a hero. Fun never last." Said Thor. Loki rolled his eyes then looked at Bucky.

"Little one, I will miss you."

"Miss you." Bucky hugged him.

"I will miss you all." Thor gathered the two and Steve in a big hug lifting them off the ground. Bucky hated that, he needed to be stable ground. So he whined.

"Thor, put him down." Said Loki. Thor immediately put Bucky on his feet and he backed away from Thor.

"Apologies, I am simply sad to be leaving. But I do doubt we will gone for long."

"Don't say that, you'll jinx everything." Said Sam. Thor laughed then held Loki's arm.

"Until then." Then lightning struck and they were gone. Bucky stared at Steve, how could they do that? Bruce came off the boat a few minutes later and they were just waiting on Tony and Pepper. Happy was already here with the van.

After about ten minutes, they came out of the boat in a rush. 

"So sorry, Tony overslept." Said Pepper climbing in the van.

"Did not." Said Tony climbing in the passenger seat.

"Alright, everyone got their things and accounted for? All children are calm?" Happy looked back at Bucky who growled at him. "Am I ever going get on your good side?" Happy started the van and they made their way home.

The ride home was unexpectedly increased due to a traffic accident, so instead of the hour ride home it looked to be almost two hours before they reach home. While sitting in traffic, Bucky started getting anxious and kicking the front seat.

"Bucky, just relax, bud." Bucky shook his head and looked around. Too much going on and they weren't moving. Bucky whined and kicked again at the driver seat.

"Why is he doing that?" Asked Happy.

"Anxious, mostly likely nervous and he's probably tired." Steve tried to settle Bucky with his tablet, but that wasn't helping and Bucky was starting to shake a little. Steve dug in his bag and got out Bubbles. "Here, Buck." That seemed to relax him a little. Steve wasn't sure how long it would settle him, but it was working. 

After about ten minutes, traffic started moving and they were able to reach the tower before eleven.

"Home at last." Tony said stepping out first. Steve, Bucky and Harley got out then Bucky tried to pull Steve towards the elevator.

"Wait, can they get a hug first?" Asked Steve. Bucky frowned but hugged everyone, even Happy. "I guess we'll see some of you later." Steve waved bye to everyone then they went up to their floor. Once they arrived, Steve let out a big sigh of relief. Now things felt normal.

" _Welcome back, Captain Rogers, Mister Barnes and Ms. Harley_." Greeted Jarvis.

"Hello Jarvis." Steve greeted. Bucky somewhat waved to ceiling then shrugged off his book bag, left his suitcase by the elevator door and kicked off his shoes then went to his sensory room. 

"He was deregulated that whole trip back. I'm sure he'll be okay in a few minutes." Steve went about with unpacking everything. He took all the dirty clothes and put them in the washer machine. He would be washing Harley's bedding later. After he got the suitcase put away and reorganized Bucky's travel bag, he checked on his plants. All were still alive and looking amazing. He would have to text Happy a thank you later.

After an hour, Bucky came out his room in a much better mood. Steve was definitely sure that Bucky was just deregulated and anxious with sitting in traffic. And now that he was in a better mood, he had to deal with Harley.

"Alright, you two in the bathroom." Said Steve. Bucky and Harley went in the bathroom. Steve grabbed four large towels. He would usually use two but the last time he bathed Harley, Bucky entered the tub and by the end of the bath, the bathroom floor was wet and Steve nearly fell. So he decided this time to put Bucky in the tub with Harley to make sure to he didn't jump in.

He took Bucky clothes off and put on a swim diaper then got him in the tub.

"Bath?"

"Harley is taking a bath, I just need to make sure we don't have a repeat of last time." Steve took out the dog soap then started the water. He took off Harley's collar and got her wet. Bucky sat in front of Harley, it was pretty fun to watch Harley take a bath. Even though she just stood there, Bucky was mainly there for the shake. Steve hated the shake. Steve rubbed her body down with the soap then handed Bucky a small wet towel. 

"Wipe her face, gently." Bucky rubbed around her nose then rubbed around her eyes. Harley smelled his face then licked his nose.

"Tickles." Steve took the rag from his and wiped her ears. Then he ran the water again to rinse the soap off.

"Alright, Harley, you look and smell amazing again." Said Steve scratching her head. Harley licked his hand then she did the shake. Steve sighed, Bucky laughed. "Trouble makers. Come on out." Harley jumped out and Steve dried her. Bucky played with the water for a bit until Steve drained the water. "You come out too and dry yourself. Do not shake." Bucky smiled and dried himself off. Steve finished drying Harley then set her free to do whatever she wanted. He brought Bucky into the room and got him in comfortable clothes.

The rest of the day was pretty peaceful, Steve finished laundry and he and Bucky was able to get a quick nap in. Close to bedtime, Bucky finished his dinner and wasn't tired at all even after he took his medication and had a real bath. Steve wasn't sure how to drain his energy. Bucky wasn't in a wrestling mood or a playing mood. He just wanted to stay up. But his medication only allowed a certain amount of time before exhaustion became too much.

So Steve decided on a movie night. At the most, Bucky could last thirty minutes after taking the medication. And most of the movies he watched were an hour and a few minutes. This should make him tired enough. "Hey, Bucky how about a movie?"

"Movie." Bucky repeated. Steve sat down on his firm bed and scrolled through the movie list on his tablet. 

"Finding Nemo sound good?" Bucky nodded and laid down. Steve let Harley on the bed then laid down on bed and watched the child movie with Bucky.

He was really glad to be home. He really enjoyed the trip and would love to do more in the future, but the world wasn't going to pause because the Avengers went on vacation. Trouble was still out there and now they had to be cautious about where they brought Bucky. Winter had made a lasting impression on the world and some countries were looking for him. They just had to be cautious and continue to work on Winter's control and trust. But that was a later thought for a later day.

For now, Steve watched Bucky's favorite movie and listened as Bucky kept naming all the fish characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all who read through this cruise special, it was fun and a little exhausting to write because most of this made me stay up to almost three in the morning. I am taking a week off then I will post the father's day special.

**Author's Note:**

> I am a little behind on this. So bear with me if all details are not described. My mind wants to write the Father's day but I must have restraint until then.


End file.
